Olympia : Dawn of An Age
by Aix98
Summary: Following the events of the Rookie Showcase, Percy now has a team behind his back consisting some of the best players of Olympia. Their aim? Winning the pre-season tournament: Breaking Point. But as the tournament approaches, Percy realizes that there is more to Olympia than what he already knows. Will Percy make it to the tournament? Sequel to "A Game of Olympia".
1. Introduction to Olympia

Olympia  
An Auugmented Reality (AR) game that is created by Poseidon and his brothers. Olympia evolved from a game into a lifestyle in just a few years.

AR Glasses  
Augmented Reality Glasses. Glasses that allow you to play Olympia, in which the glasses projects the game into the real world through the player's vision.

* * *

PvP  
Player vs Player. An event in which Olympia players battle against each other either in a:  
\- 1 v 1 match  
\- 3 v 3 match  
\- 5 v 5 match

PvE  
Player vs Enemy. An event in which Olympia players fight against enemies that Olympia provides. These enemies are computer controlled and are inspired by monsters from myths and legends. PvE can be done in multiple ways:  
-Solo (1 player)  
-Squad (5 players)  
-Raid (20 players)

* * *

Classes  
The main feature of Olympia. Classes determine the abilities that a player will acquire in Olympia. Classes have four categories:  
-Physical  
-Magic  
-Tanks  
-Support

* * *

Physical Class  
Classes that have the primary role of dealing damage to the opposition, mainly physical damage. Often referred to as DPS clases or damage dealers. There are 4 classes in this category:

-Duelist  
This class can equip any weapon in the game except for the ones exclusive for Magic classes. This class can only wear up to light armour and are often picked by players that are quick and have fast reflexes.

-Archer  
The only class other than Duelist that can use ranged weaponry except for the ones exclusive to Magic classes. Required only to wear minimum armour due to not being in the front lines. Often picked by players who prefers to deal damage from afar.

-Fencer  
A melee class that has the highest attack speed and can deal huge amount of damage over time. It excels in quick attacks that deals little damage while also being elusive. This class can wear light armour and equip the rapier as a weapon. Often picked by players who have high endurance and have a high work rate.

-Assassin  
A melee class that can deal high amount of damage with a single hit. This class relies on stealth and can turn invisible in the eyes of Olympia players. They also have the least amount of health out of of classes. This class requires little to no armour due to it relying heavily on evasion and speed and can equip daggers. Often picked by players who wants to deal massive amounts of damage.

* * *

Magic  
Classes that are similar to Physical classes, but deals magic damage. These classes are normally called "glass cannons" as they can deal a lot of damage but don't have that many health. There are 3 classes in this category:

-Sorcerer  
A class that can deal the most damage out of the three Magic classes. This class focuses entirely on spells that can do a lot of damage, primarily elemental spells. They have a large amount of Mana pool as well. Often picked by players who prefers dealing a lot of damage while staying at the back.

-Necromancer  
A class that primarily focuses on Necromancy, magic that controls the dead. This class can summon the undead to do their bidding and apply debuffs on enemies so that they may have the upper hand. This class can also drain the HP of an enemy to refill their own. Often picked by players who are capable of multi tasking.

-Magician  
This is a class designed to handle multiple enemies at the same time. It has spells that can deal damage over time in an area or apply debuffs to multiple targets. Often picked by players who can strategize quickly.

* * *

Tanks  
Classes that have the specific role of being in the frontline and taking the enemy hits. Out of all the classes in Olympia, this type of class have the most defense and HP. There are 3 types of Tanks:

-Vanguard  
A class that can tank and deal damage to the enemy at the same time. They are usually equipped with a shield and a melee weapon. Aside from tanking, this class can intiate counter attacks that deal a lot of damage. They wear heavy armour due to the fact that mobility is not a necessity for this class. Often picked by players who can take a hit but still hit back.

-Shieldbearer  
As the name of the class said, this class can only equip shields, either in both hands or only one hand. The sole purpose of this class is to make sure the enemy's attention is on them. They have the ability to pull the aggro of an enemy towards them. They have the highest amount of HP and are required to equip heavy armour. Often picked by players who have high endurance and courageous.

-Monk  
This class excels in defending against magical damage. This is the only Tank class that does not require to equip a shield, instead gauntlets. They have high resistance against magical damage and tank through physical damage with evasion. Wears light armour due to it prioritising speed. Often pick by players who are fast and have high reflexes.

* * *

Support  
This class is the least popular class in Olympia. Their primary role is to apply buffs for their allies and debuffs to their enemies. It is their job to make sure their teammates stay alive in battle and have an advantage. Dealing damage is not a priority for this type of class. There are 3 types of Supports:

-Druid  
This class excels in magic that heal allies and debuff the enemies. Their primary type of heal is Heal Over Time and the debuffs are limited. A fairly easy class that are normally picked by beginner players.

-Priest  
This class can generate the most healing out of the three support classes. The primary type of healing is Burst Healing. Their magic also focuses on buffing the allies and dispelling any debuffs inflicted on them. Often picked by players who focuses on helping their teammates.

-Enchanter  
Considered to be one of the hardest classes to master. This class's primary role is to cripple the enemy while buffing their allies. It is the only class capable of giving their own Mana to other players. While the spells with heals on this class is limited, their main function lies on the buff and debuff spells that they have. Often picked by players with experience, preferably captains who can control the fight.

* * *

Items  
Items are generally found in Olympia either from drops after defeating an enemy, buying it from shop vendors, trading with other players, ingame lootboxes or ingame stores. Items also include equipments. Items have 5 levels of rarity:

-Common Items  
Items that are fairly common and can be found everywhere in Olympia.

-Uncommon Items  
Similar to Common rarity items, only with a less percentage chance of actually appearing.

-Rare Items  
Items that can only be obtained through lootboxes and World Boss drops.

-Mythical Items  
Similar to Rare rarity items, only with less percentage of dropping.

-Legendary Items  
Can only be acquired through certain World Bosses drops.

* * *

Cut Content

Brawler

?

Arch Angel

?

Demigod

?

Beast

?

Musician

?

Summoner

?

Maestro

?

Copycat

?

Demon

?

[REDACTED]  
?

Ancient Relics

?

Cursed Relics

?


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Ayy, I'm back! Anyway, the previous chapter is just like a brief rundown on how Olympia operates just so you can understand this whole thing better. Anyway, let's get into it.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

Percy took a deep breath and lunged at Annabeth as she sidestepped out of the way and kicked Percy square on the chest.

Percy staggered backwards from the kick, but he regained his composure and transformed his weapon into a spear and thrust it thrice at Annabeth, at which she dodged effectively. She gritted her teeth and stepped in close, trying to make the lance useless.

Percy tried to hit her with his elbow, but she ducked under it and used her momentum to propel Percy forward and landed on the floor with a thud. Annabeth tried choking him, but Percy swiped her hand away and tried to get her in a headlock, but Annabeth was more nimble and flexible. She wrapped her legs around Percy's arm and pulled it as hard as she could.

Percy grunted in pain. "Ow, ow, ow!" Percy tapped her leg. "I yield!"

Percy felt the pressure loosen from his arm as Annabeth let him go. He stretched his arm as Annabeth looked at him with a tired but smug smirk.

"I win," She said simply.

"Yeah," Percy grumbled. "I thought you said you were going to go easy on me?"

Annabeth chuckled. "I was planning to, but then I see you've improved more than I thought you had."

Percy stood up. "You know, for someone I'm going to be facing against in a few weeks, training together is not really a good idea." He offered his hand to help Annabeth stand up.

Annabeth grinned and took it. "Maybe, but you won't find a better opponent than me."

"Good point," He said with a smile. "I almost nearly beat you though,"

Annabeth snorted. "Keep dreaming, Jackson." She said. "So, you have any plans for tonight?"

Percy shrugged. "Not really. Artemis is busy with her team just like everyone else is. I find it odd that you're one of the best players in Olympia and yet you have the most free time."

"Meh," She merely replied. "So you up for dinner tonight?"

"No fancy restaurants please."

"Nope. There's just something I wanted to talk to you about." Annabeth said. "Meet you by the pier tonight, okay?"

"What makes you think that I would say yes?" Percy asked.

"Because you have nothing better to do." She smirked which was pretty much true. "See you tonight."

Percy and Annabeth said their goodbyes before Percy exited the Minerva headquarters, which looked like a cutting-edge building coloured with gray paint. Percy was always fascinated on how the Minerva team always get the latest equipment first.

Maybe because some of them were invented by them themselves, but who knows?

Percy stopped by the Orphanage, like he usually does before he goes to the Argonauts' HQ. Before, Percy would always be greeted by Thalia and Jason, most of the time with Thalia tackling him to the ground.

But Thalia is now an official Olympia professional player, going with the Rebellion and Jason as well, going with the Roman Legion.

They've been stopping by once in a while, but the place really feels lonely without them.

Percy went back to the kitchen to see Hestia cooking, as usual. "Hey," Percy greeted.

"Hey," Hestia smiled at him. "Just in time for lunch."

"Nice, because I'm starving." Percy said as he sat down. Hestia finished up her cooking and made two servings of curry rice and chicken, one for her and one for him.

"How are you, Percy?" Hestia asked as they eat.

"I'm doing . . . fine?"

Hestia chuckled. "It's been quite here ever since Thalia and Jason left."

"I've noticed." Percy said. "Don't worry. I'll still be around to annoy you."

She smiled. "So, I heard that you're going to be going against all of your friends in a few weeks." Hestia raised an eyebrow at Percy.

"Lemme guess, Thalia told you."

"Actually, it was Annabeth."

Percy rolled his eyes. "I swear she gossips more than Thalia." Percy mumbled. "But yeah, I'm going against them in a few weeks. You can thank Artemis for that."

"Don't you need a team for that?" Hestia asked.

"I've got it sorted." Percy said.

 **Line Break**

After that, Percy headed towards the Argonaut's HQ. The Argonauts are like Olympia's secret service. No one knows about their existence or their capability of using Olympia's Cut Content.

When Percy entered, he saw Theseus and Perseus playing against one another in Mortal Kombat. He entered just as Perseus won the match.

"That's bullshit!" Theseus complained. He turned towards Percy. "This is your fault."

"I just got here."

"You distracted me." Theseus grumbled.

Perseus just laughed. "Hey Percy." He greeted.

"Hey," Percy said with a grin. "What's the streak?"

"A hundred and seven wins," Perseus said. "To me."

"One more game!" Theseus demanded.

"You know no one can beat me in this game, right?"

"I got close once," Theseus grumbled.

"It doesn't matter how close you get. Losing is losing," Perseus shrugged. "Oh yeah, Jason's looking for you, Percy."

"Yeah, I'm looking for him too. Thanks Perseus." Percy said. "And good luck Theseus. If you win, I'll get a banner of your name stapled on Perseus's room."

"What?" Perseus asked.

"You're on!" Theseus grinned excitedly. "Come on, Perseus. Get in the game!"

Percy just shook his head with a smile as he went upstairs to meet Jason. In order for him not to get confused at his friends' name, Jason as in Thalia's brother he just called him Jason, while Argonaut Jason he called Jay.

So he arrived in Jay's office, in which he was focused on doing some reading. The room was still breathtaking like the first time Percy had been here.

"Knock, knock," Percy said.

Jason looked up from his paper and grinned at Percy. "Ah, just the man I've been looking for."

"What's up, Jay?"

"You know, most people call me Jason."

"Well, most people don't have two friends with the name Jason." Percy smirked.

"Touche," Jay grinned at him. "Anyway, you know who you're going to be teaming up with for the Breaking Point tournament?"

"Just need one more person." Percy said. "Perseus and Orpheus were practically begging to go with me because they're excited to see Olympia's competitive scene. And Andromeda is going to be going with Perseus. So I'm just gonna need one more player."

"I heard Ariadne was planning on going with you," Jay said.

"I'll ask her later." Percy said. "Anyway, there's something I wanted to ask you about."

"What is it?"

"I've been seeing something strange happening at the Market in Olympia Plaza at midnight." Percy said. "You know anything about it?"

Jay scratched his head. "I've been getting reports of the same thing, but it hasn't caused any trouble so far."

"Mind if I check it out?" Percy asked.

"You sure?"

"I'll be bringing a friend of mine along." Percy said.

Jay thought about it for a few seconds. "Go ahead, but stay safe. And don't let anyone see you using the Cut Content."

The Cut Content of Olympia was something that almost broke the game when they released it. Or at least, pretended they released it.

In order to win against Olympia's enemies, most likely people like the Hacker, they need to be able to use the things from Cut Content. This also will enable Percy and his team to draw attention from the real reason the Argonauts were founded.

So Percy convinced Poseidon to release an update announcement. Everything in Cut Content was "released" to the public. But it's been a week, and no one has found anything about it. Some speculated that the announcement was just a big troll by Olympia, but then people started to find new items and equipment being sold in Olympia, which made them believe again that there's a slim chance of obtaining these new content.

Percy, the Argonauts, and some of the most talented hackers with Level 3 Administration access level are the only ones that can access Cut Content.

So far, they're safe.

 **Line Break**

Percy was sitting by the beach, waiting for Annabeth. Surprisingly, there was almost no people here despite it being the weekend. Either people don't go to beaches at night or the area has been closed down for some reason.

Percy was deep in his thoughts when he was interrupted by Annabeth. "Hey," She called. Percy turned around to look at her.

Trying to look beautiful and badass at the same time is a very hard look to pull off, but Annabeth managed it.

She wore denim shorts and an orange shirt with faded writing, except for the words 'half-blood' at the end of it. Her blonde hair was tied to a ponytail. Percy could notice the owl necklace that he'd bought for her on their first date.

"Hey," Percy said. "You look amazing."

"Well, can't say the same about you." Annabeth chuckled. "Your hair is messy."

"I was trying to be nice," Percy complained. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

Annabeth took a deep breath. "The new update." She said. "What do you know about it?"

Percy scratched the back of his head. "Well, I know that nobody's found anything about it. I know that it has a very low chance of dropping. Other than that, I know nothing."

Annabeth stepped closer to Percy. "You suck at lying. I know you're hiding something, Percy."

Percy got nervous. Annabeth is very good at reading minds and body language. "If I am hiding something you would already figure it out."

"What makes you think that?"

"Because we have a connection," Percy grinned. "Is that all you wanted to ask me?"

Annabeth blushed. Percy knew Annabeth had a bit of a 'thing' for Percy and Percy liked teasing her about it. "Well, yeah. I was hoping you'd know something about it. I mean, the update was announced about a week ago and there's been no new discovery about the new classes. The only ones we do know about is the items which isn't all that good."

"Well, sorry to disappoint you. If I do know something, I'll let you guys know."

Annabeth squinted her eyes at Percy. "That's the thing. You do know something." Then, a notification for a duel popped up:

* * *

 _Annabeth has invited you to a duel. Will you accept?_

 _Yes No_

* * *

"If I win, you tell me everything you know." Annabeth said. "If I lose-"

Percy declined the request. "Annabeth, you're being ridiculous. If I knew something, I would've told you already." Percy said.

"Fine," Annabeth grumbled. "If I know you're hiding something from me, I'll be coming for you."

"Consider me warned." Percy chuckled. "Now, I need your help with something."

Line Break

Annabeth and Percy sat in a car facing the Market. The Olympia Plaza looks really empty considering it's a few minutes left until midnight.

"What are we doing here, exactly?" Annabeth asked.

"Observing." Percy said. "You'll see in a few minutes."

Percy was still nervous about Annabeth pressuring him about the Cut Content, but luckily she didn't press anymore.

"Is Artemis okay with you hanging out with me like this?" Annabeth asked.

Percy winced. "She's okay with us being friends, but let's just keep this part to ourselves."

Annabeth laughed. "Looks like I'll have another one of your dirty secret."

Percy gulped. He was about to talk Annabeth out of exposing him to Artemis, but the clock struck midnight. "It's midnight," Annabeth pointed out.

For the first few seconds, nothing happened. They kept waiting for almost three minutes. "Is something supposed to happen?" Annabeth asked.

"Come on," Percy said as he exited the car. Annabeth followed suit. Together, they walked towards the fountain at the center of the Plaza. At first, there was nothing out of the ordinary. But then, the fountain glowed in brilliant blue light as water started to sprout from the top.

"Cool," Annabeth said simply. "Is that it?"

"Put your Glasses on." Percy put his AR Glasses on and saw a text box hovering in front of him. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Percy asked.

"Yeah," Annabeth muttered. "Is this part of the new Olympia update?"

* * *

 _Gauntlet Mode:_

 _Defeat waves of enemies to obtain your reward._

 _Attempts available: 1_

 _Waves of enemies: 45_

 _Reward: Unlocked Maestro Class_

 _Current players: Annabeth, Percy._

* * *

"Is this what I think this is?" Percy asked. He tries to sound excited, but he's more surprised than anything. Did Poseidon release this? He didn't remember asking for a way for these classes to be obtainable.

If Poseidon hadn't done this, someone else had put this event here. Someone wanted the Cut Content to be obtainable. Someone who have the same level of access as Poseidon.

There's no turning back now. Percy could see the determination in Annabeth's eyes to do this event.

"We only have one attempt?" Annabeth asked. "With forty five waves of enemy? This is going to be impossible."

"This does make sense." Percy said. "With only one attempt per event, not everyone can get it. So if we fail this one, there won't be another chance for other people to get it unless there's another event."

Percy and Annabeth thought about it for a while. "So, what do you think?" Annabeth asked. "Should we go for this or should we call for backup?"

"And let other people discover this event and beat it before us?" Percy asked with a grin. "You must be joking."

Annabeth grinned to herself. But before she could say anything, another name joined the event:

* * *

 _Current players: Annabeth, Percy, Zoe_

* * *

"Who's Zoe?" Percy asked. "A friend of yours?"

Annabeth shook her head. She looked around and her eyes fixed on someone behind her.

"Mind if I join you?" A woman asked. She looked like she was the same age as Percy and Annabeth, maybe a bit older. She had dark brown eyes, a slightly upturned nose, copper-colored skin, and a silver circlet braided into the top of her long, dark hair. She looked like a Persian princess.

"Who are you?" Percy asked.

"Zoe Nightshade," She introduced herself. "I've been scouting the place for a while now. I figured one of the pro players might show up if I wait long enough."

"Why didn't you try the challenge yourself?" Annabeth asked.

"And risk losing it? No way."

"Fair enough." Percy said. "At least we have a better chance of winning. And smart move on your behalf for not calling other people to this event."

"I'm an opportunist." Zoe shrugged.

"Well, we're all set. Shall we begin?" Percy asked. Both girls nodded as Percy accepted the challenge.

The blue light of the fountain dimmed out as spotlights circling the Plaza lit up the place. With only the three of them there, it felt unnatural.

In their display, a countdown begins.

3 . . .

2 . . .

1 . . .

* * *

 _Wave 1_

* * *

A bunch of enemies started to appear all around the arena.

"This is going to take ages." Percy grumbled as the battle starts.

* * *

 **A/N: I know this isn't much, but I've been known to start slow. Anyway, hoped you enjoy the first chapter. I'll be looking forward to writing more.**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Slow start as usual. Well, at least I've started. Let's answer some questions.**

 **merendinoemiliano: Ayy, you're back!**

 **iamonlyareader: I'd love those as well, but can't crank them up that fast. Hopefully I can. Hopefully.**

 **Let's** **continue.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

Annabeth, as the most experienced player among the three of them, became the tactician as she used her Enchanter class.

Zoe, Percy figured out, uses an Archer as her class. And she's pretty damn good at it. Using minimal effort to get the maximum results.

Percy acted as a crowd controller (and party leader), drawing all the monsters' aggro towards him, acting like a pseudo-tank.

"I don't know if we can keep this up," Percy said in their party communication. Annabeth and Zoe stayed near the fountain at the center of the Plaza while Percy was a bit further than them. "We'll lose soon."

"He's right." Zoe said as she fired an arrow that hit three monsters at once. "Our heals aren't enough."

Percy could sense Annabeth getting tense. She knew that they weren't going to last very long without a dedicated healer. And her Enchanter class barely provide enough heals for one person, let alone the three of them.

They finished the ninth wave before the game lets them rest for three minutes.

Percy was getting a bit tired. It seems the number of enemies per wave increases by three each time. The tenth wave had thirty enemies. If they make it to the 45th wave . . .

"Percy!" Annabeth called, snapping Percy out of his thoughts. "Were you listening?"

Percy replied with something smart like, "Uh?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You need to conserve your stamina. Lay back on the offense and try to pick out one enemy at the time."

"I can do that, but that means by the time we're done with this, it's going to be morning. And people are going to ask some questions."

"Plus," Zoe said. "We don't know if they could join the event as it is ongoing. If that's the case, this would be pointless as everyone will get the class."

Annabeth cursed in what sounded like Latin. "Well, I'm out of ideas. Any suggestions?"

To be honest, Percy didn't mind losing this event. That would mean that no one would obtain the Maestro class.

But he know that wouldn't sit well with Annabeth. And he couldn't bear to watch one of his best friends be sad.

"Let's just keep going for now." Percy said. "Maybe we'll think of something later."

Zoe nodded. Annabeth wasn't particularly too happy about the decision, but she didn't have a choice. There was nothing they could do right now that doesn't let the public know about the event.

Then in their display, the countdown started again.

3 . . .

2 . . .

1 . . .

* * *

 _Wave 10_

* * *

Percy sighed as he jumped into action. He used a large club just so he can kill multiple enemies in just one swing.

"Here we go again," Percy muttered as he let out a yell before swinging his club sideways, sending five monsters flying across the Plaza.

Annabeth casts a spell that rooted multiple enemies as Zoe picked them off one by one. Percy continued to swing his club around like a madman, sending enemies flying right and left.

He felt a stinging pain behind him. He turned around to see a monster had stabbed him with a dagger. Percy grunted as he kicked the monster in the head and finished it off with his club. A chunk of his HP bar went missing, but Annabeth replenished it just by a tiny bit.

That's the problem they're facing without a dedicated healer. Annabeth's healing couldn't keep up with the damage that Percy is taking. Sure, Percy can be a bit more defensive and he can survive longer, but that will risk them doing this event until morning.

According to Percy's clock, it's almost one in the morning. They've done almost a quarter of the event.

Percy ducked under a javelin thrown by a monster before switching up into a sword and stabbing its gut. He pulled the sword out and swung around to decapitate another monster before running his sword through the head of another one.

The trio cleared the wave in an impressive time and earned their three minute break. But surprisingly, they got a notification box on their display.

* * *

 _Gauntlet Mode Bonus_

 _Defeat a World Boss_

 _Or_

 _Continue as usual_

* * *

Percy stared at the text box in disbelief. "I don't understand."

"Understand what?" Annabeth asked.

"The offer." Percy gestured at the box.

"What offer?" Zoe asked as she took a seat. "Did you hit your head too hard?"

Percy then stared at them. "You're kidding. The notification box on your Glasses. You don't see it?"

Both of the girls shook their heads. "The only thing I see is your HP bar below the halfway point already." Annabeth said.

"Well, that's not what I'm seeing." Percy said. "I got an offer. It says Gauntlet Mode Bonus. Either we take on a World Boss or continue as usual."

Zoe and Annabeth stared at him.

"If this is a joke, then it's not funny." Zoe said.

"I'm serious!" Percy insisted. "How come you didn't get the notification?"

Annabeth could sense the seriousness in Percy's voice. "Maybe it's just for party leaders?" Annabeth said, which would make sense since Percy was the party leader.

Percy felt a bit satisfied at the answer, but he still felt uneasy. Why did this get offered?

"So," Zoe said. "Are we going for it?"

"For what?"

"The World Boss," Zoe said. "Sounds like the game is giving us a chance. Either facing one very difficult battle, or face thirty five more easier battles but don't get easier on the way."

"She makes a good point." Annabeth said. "Let's take our chance."

"You forgot one thing though," Percy said. "If a World Boss appears in Olympia-"

"The forums," Zoe added. "Everyone will be notified of it. They're going to go after this World Boss."

The Olympia forums are a place for the community to discuss about everything in the game. Bugs, item drops, tactics, class builds, et cetera. But what players mainly do on forums is to hunt World Bosses. Olympia has a bot that informs every player in Olympia if a World Boss has spawned. There are some players who are eager to face new World Bosses and monitor these forums twenty-four/seven.

"If we accept this, it will probably take about thirty minutes for anyone to get here." Zoe said.

"So what you're saying is," Annabeth concluded. "Not only do we gotta beat a World Boss that we know nothing about or how to fight it, but we have to do it within a time limit."

"Pretty much." Percy said.

"Well," Annabeth said. "We've been through worse."

Percy grinned as he looked at Zoe for confirmation. Zoe smirked and nodded. Percy accepted the challenge.

* * *

 _World Boss:_

 _Styx_

* * *

From the fountain, inky black water sprouted from it. The trio took a few steps back as the black water continues to rise and bubbles up until it formed the shape of a woman with black hair, black eyes, dark makeup and a smoke-like dress.

If Percy had to call her one thing, it would be the female version of Dracula, minus the fangs.

Such foolish mortals, the woman said. I will make sure you die in pain!

A health bar appeared at the top of their display. The name of the World Boss is Styx, which was probably a representation of the River Styx from Greek mythology.

Styx let out a high-pitched scream and shot dark water from the fountain. Percy moved to one side while Annabeth and Zoe moved to the other. A few drops of the water made contact with Percy's skin and it felt like someone had dripped acid on it as Percy screamed in pain.

"Percy!" Annabeth shouted. "What's wrong?"

"The water," Percy managed as the pain subsided. "Don't let it touch you." Percy saw his own health bar diminishing slightly.

Zoe fired an arrow that would've hit Styx right between the eyes, but she raised up the black water from the fountain to form a wall in front of her, blocking the arrow. "This is going to be tough," Zoe said.

Percy conjured a sword and sprinted towards Styx. Styx used the black water from the fountain like tendrils, acting like extra limbs for her. The water shot towards Percy, at which he dodged left and right and ducked under another tendril of water. He leaped and was within striking range when Styx conjured up a cocoon of water surrounding herself. Percy tried attacking through it, but the sword bounced off of the cocoon harmlessly as if it was a rock. Styx used another tendril of water and threw Percy aside, sending him rolling on the floor.

The water that Styx used stings like hot molten lava. Luckily, it doesn't last very long. But it didn't feel good either as Percy's Health bar decreases.

"We need to watch for her movements." Annabeth tried casting the Root spell, but Styx didn't seem bothered by it too much as the Root doesn't even latch onto her. "Look for an opening."

Zoe kept firing barrages of arrow. Some get blocked while others were intercepted by the tendrils of water. Thanks to the tendrils, Styx now looks like a giant black octopus.

"There is no opening." Zoe grumbled.

"You guys search for it." Percy groaned. "I'll distract her."

"Percy, you need to lay back," Annabeth ordered but Percy wasn't listening. Somehow, Percy was confident that he could hit Styx. He just didn't know how. Percy charged Styx again, gaining her attention. Zoe and Annabeth tried to damage her, but to no avail.

Percy weaved through her tendrils of water and made it to the fountain again. He leapt and changed his weapon into a massive war hammer. He struck downwards, but Styx wrapped herself in a cocoon of water again. Percy felt like he'd just hit concrete full force with a hammer, which sent up a jolt through his arms.

Then, Percy noticed something.

The black cocoon that she was in had shattered at the place Percy hit her. Percy tried hitting again at the same spot, but he was sent flying across the Plaza.

"Keep hitting it!" Percy shouted. Zoe and Annabeth didn't press further as they were barraging Styx with all they got, but it all got negated because of Styx's defense.

Percy, for the third time, leapt on top of Syx again. But this time, he uses two swords to attack.

Again, as Percy expected, Styx wrapped herself in a cocoon. Percy struck the cocoon with one sword and it just bounces harmlessly, but Percy didn't let up.

He struck again with another sword. Again, it bounced against the cocoon harmlessly but it didn't feel as strong.

He started to attack Styx's cocoon with a barrage of attacks. Each one was bouncing harmlessly upon Styx's shell of defense, but Percy could see the cocoon was cracking. He made one final downward cleave and the cocoon shattered.

Styx gasped in pain as she fell to her knees. "Attack her now!" Percy shouted. They put everything they've got into their attacks. Percy sliced and diced at her, Zoe fired arrow after arrow and Annabeth kept casting spells that buffs the both of them and debuff Styx.

For what seem like an eternity, Styx's Health bar was finally starting to decrease. They were dealing tons of damage for a good few seconds before every cell in Percy's body screamed, BACK!

Percy jumped backwards as Styx let out a piercing howl as the inky water below her surrounds her in a cylinder before dropping back again.

"Good call," Zoe pointed out. If Percy had stayed where he was standing, his HP would've probably gone to zero. "Now what?"

"We do it again," Percy said as he gripped his swords tighter.

It took them a while as Styx became more aggressive, spawning more tendrils of black water to act as a defense mechanism. It was getting harder to find an opening. Percy weaved and sidestepped of what seemed to be an endless barrage of attacks, but finally getting through to Styx and finally starting to chip at her cocoon.

As soon as the cocoon shattered, the trio went to work. They increased their damage output and started to decrease Styx's health up until the halfway point, in which Styx moved on to her Second Phase with the yellow health bar.

Styx's scream pierced the night as all the water tendrils disappeared. She pushed Percy out of her way and rolling onto the pavement as she stepped down from the fountain. She starts glaring at Annabeth and Zoe.

You will die painful deaths! Styx shouted as she moved as fast as lightning towards Annabeth and wrapped her hand around her neck.

Of course, none of this was real. It was just projected by the game. But somehow, Annabeth felt like she was being strangled. Percy could see the fear in her eyes of not being able to breathe.

Zoe nocked an arrow and fired a Powershot towards Styx, in which she dodged by just leaning backwards slightly. She turned towards Zoe and her other arm seems to extend like a rubber band towards Zoe in a flash, wrapping that hand around Zoe's neck as well.

Now both of the girls were being choked to death.

"Let them go!" Percy roared defiantly. Something was wrong. World Bosses aren't meant to be this threatening and Olympia wasn't meant to bring pain to its players.

So why is the World Boss trying to kill Annabeth and Zoe?

Percy had to act fast. If he was reckless, he'll end up in the situation as Annabeth and Zoe and that'll do anyone no good.

Annabeth's and Zoe's HP bar was draining fast. Percy had no time and no choice.

He has to use it.

Percy quickly went through his Profile menu and found what he was looking for:

The Change Class option.

 **Line Break**

By the time Annabeth woke up, the news about the new World Boss had spread like wildfire and the Plaza was overcrowded by the time the sun came up. But Percy knew that there wasn't going to be any World Bosses there.

"Unh," He heard Annabeth groan next to him. Percy had taken the liberty to carry her and Zoe to a nearby hotel since they passed out from the fight.

"Morning," Percy grinned at her. "Slept well?"

"What happened?" She muttered. "All I remember was Styx choking me and Zoe and everything went blurry." Then she gasped. "Styx! What happened with her? Did we win?"

Percy grinned. "Put on your Glasses."

Annabeth hurriedly put on her Glasses, to which she received a notification:

* * *

 _Congratulations! You've unlocked:_

 _Maestro Class_

* * *

Annabeth stared at it in disbelief. Not for the fact that she'd finally obtained something from the new game update, but at something else.

"Tell me you didn't solo that World Boss," Annabeth said. "Because you'll be lying."

"Well, that's exactly what happened." Percy said. "I soloed Styx while you were passed out."

"That's horse shit." Annabeth said. "The three of us could barely beat her. How do you expect me to believe you managed to defeat her on your own?"

Percy shrugged. "That's the truth. If you don't want to believe it, it's up to you. The proof is in your Glasses' display right now."

Annabeth was wary of Percy. Her last bits of consciousness before passing out during the fight was the fact that something changed in Percy's player indicator. Normally, you would see an Olympia player's name, class, and rank. Annabeth noticed just before passing out that Percy's class changed to something else, but she couldn't remember what.

"Well, at least we did it." Annabeth said, deciding not to pressure Percy so much.

"Yes we did." Percy said. "With a lot of trouble as well. That World Boss was not something normal."

"I noticed." Annabeth said. "Maybe it's got something to do with the Hacker organization?"

"Maybe," Percy muttered. "I'm going to dig deeper into this. I'm gonna have to meet Nico and the others."

Annabeth nodded. "I'll see what I can find out on my end. In the mean time, we need to be careful of these World Bosses."

"And we need to be on the look out for more." Percy added. "We can't let anyone be harmed from this."

Annabeth nodded absently. Then, she noticed that someone was missing. "Where's Zoe?"

"Oh, she left already." Percy said. "She was surprised a boy like me could fought an opponent as strong as Styx, but she gave me her grudging respect and told me to tell you that she's added you to her friend list just in case you were looking for an extra player."

Annabeth laughed. "I'll think about it. She's a pretty good Archer though."

"Yeah, but she hates my guts." Percy scratched his head.

"Well, everyone does." Annabeth said with a smile. "Well, I gotta get going now. My team's going to be wondering where I've been the whole night."

"Sure thing," Percy said as Annabeth got up from her bed. "I'll let you know if I find out about anything."

Annabeth smiled. "Take your time though. I'm gonna study this new class."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Just stay safe, Wise Girl."

"Seaweed Brain," Annabeth stuck her tongue out at Percy before heading out of the room.

Percy smiled at her but when she left, his smiled disappeared. There was something else that was given to Percy when he'd defeated Styx. Something that he didn't want to tell Annabeth or anyone about.

When Styx disappeared, the fountain shot out a note:

* * *

 _Event Started: The Trials of Olympia_

 _Stage 1 Complete_

* * *

 **A/N: And we'll leave it at that. Well, as always leave a review if you like or hate it. I'll be honest, I enjoy reading your reviews. So if you leave one, I would very much appreciate it. Nevertheless, I'll see you guys in the next chapter.**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: And so it continues . . .**

 **Guest: Thanks!**

 **32: Ask and you shall receive.**

 **Iamonlyareader: ;)**

 **RED2017: Yayy I'm back!**

 **Alex Focker: Well, in the first story I did say I got the inspiration from SAO, Log Horizon, and Warcross. So there might be some parallel there.**

 **Onwards!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

Percy was lounging on one of his favourite spots in the city. A viewpoint on top of a hill overlooking most of the city.

The starry night lit up his surroundings dimly, along with the glow of the moon. Percy had always enjoyed this spot. The smell of sea breeze and the sounds of the forest had always calmed his nerves.

Percy read the Maestro class's description.

Apparently its a class that functions the most in team battles, more specifically on five versus five situations or raids. The more people in their team, the better. Maestros specialize in being the tacticians, strategists, masterminds, coordinators, and all of the above. It's almost like they "conduct" what happens on the battlefield. Hence the name, Maestro. As in the conductor in a musical orchestra.

Maestro has spells that focuses on area of effect spells, or AoE. They can deal damage to massive amounts of enemies or heal and buff any allies within an area of their choosing. Spells like Earthquake and Meteor are made to deal with large amounts of enemies. While some spells like Healing Sonata heals all of their allies for an insane amount of HP.

And you wonder why Maestro was in the Cut Content of Olympia.

This class would be perfect for Annabeth, considering she's the captain of Minerva. Being someone who sets the tone of battle is something that Percy could picture Annabeth becoming.

Percy sighed as he lay down on the observation deck of the viewpoint. The stars were looking specifically bright tonight.

"Figured you'd be here." A familiar voice said behind him. Percy looked up to see Artemis smiling at him.

"Hey," Percy smiled back. It's been a while since Percy last saw her. Artemis had been really busy with her the Hunt lately, considering the Breaking Point tournament was a few weeks away.

Artemis sat near Percy's head as she leaned forward so that she was facing down on Percy. "Missed me?"

"You have no idea." Percy grinned as they leaned into each other for a soft yet passionate kiss. Artemis then lie down next to Percy, using Percy's arm as her pillow. "How's the Hunt?"

"Oh, the usual," Artemis said. "But everyone's a bit on edge. They're trying to get their hands on one of the new classes, but no one's had any luck."

"I suppose you're going to ask me if I know how to get one?" Percy asked.

"Nah," Artemis said. "I already know that. One of my lieutenants reported about it this morning."

Percy tensed, but fortunately Artemis didn't notice. "Really? Care to tell me about it?"

"It seems like Olympia is making new events with these classes as a reward. And they're challenging as hell, from what my lieutenant said." Artemis explained. "And you only get one go per event, so if you fail, no one else can try. So the first team gets first try, the late ones get nothing."

"So did you lieutenant win this event?" Percy asked.

"She did, with the help of a couple of other people. Unfortunately, the class she got didn't match her style of playing so it was a waste for her."

Percy mentally breathe out a sigh of relief. From what Percy could piece out, this lieutenant that Artemis mentioned has to be Zoe, the girl that helped Percy and Annabeth beat Styx. Thankfully, Zoe didn't mention his name or Annabeth's.

"Did you lieutenant have a hard time beating the event?" Percy inquired.

"Did you get the World Boss notification on the forums?" Artemis asked. Percy nodded. "That was her triggering the event."

"Huh," Percy said. "I guess we better keep an eye out for more World Boss alerts,"

Artemis shrugged as she snuggled closer to Percy. "It doesn't really matter to me. What's important is not what class you are, but how you utilize that class."

"Becoming a bit philosophical, aren't you?" Percy teased her. Artemis poked him on the ribs.

"Shut up, dork." Artemis said with a grin. "You gonna give me any tips on what kind of team you'll be coming up with?"

"If I tell you, it's not a secret anymore." Percy winked at her. "You're just gonna have to wait."

Artemis pouted at him. "Not just a little bit?"

Percy laughed. "I tell you what," Percy said. "Look forward to the end of the week."

"That's it?"

Percy just shrugged at her. Artemis rolled her eyes and kissed him softly as she giggled.

 **Line Break**

Percy was sitting in the relax area of the Argonauts' HQ, playing Mario Kart against Jay and Perseus.

Percy was currently stuck in third place, behind Perseus and Jay.

"So you're planning on bringing the team you built to go and do a PR stunt this weekend?" Jay asked. "Are you sure about this?"

"It'll build the hype around our team." Percy said as he leaned to the left with the go-kart. "And draw off more attention away from you guys."

"It's not a bad idea," Perseus added as he fired a blue shell power up. "It will keep people talking about us for the rest of the month."

"Oh don't you dare," Jay muttered as the blue shell hit his go-kart. "Oh you son of a -"

"And he slides into first," Perseus grinned as he went to first place.

"Oh, I'm gonna get you," Jay grumbled. "Back to the topic. I'm okay with what you're suggesting, but have you completed your team yet?"

Percy nodded. "Ariadne wants to tag along."

"Because it's boring in here." Ariadne suddenly sits right next to Percy. "And there's no one else to play games with other than Perseus and Theseus, and they bully me all the time."

"I play games as well," Jay pointed out.

"You only play Mario Kart," Ariadne rolled her eyes. Her wavy brown hair seemed to glitter in Percy's eyes, which complements her green eyes and light skin. "And even then you suck at it."

"I don't suck at Mario Kart," Jay grumbled. Then, he happens to grab a star power up for his go-kart. "Aha! You guys are toast now!"

Again, Ariadne rolls her eyes. "So Percy, I'm in right?"

"Yeah, you're in," Percy grinned. "Be ready for this weekend. We're gonna do a stunt of our own."

 **Line Break**

A few days later, Percy and his team stood at the center of an empty parking lot. It was mainly empty due to a World Boss is bound to appear any minute, and Percy has booked the place for just the five of them.

Orpheus and Perseus looked around with a grin on their faces. "These people won't know what they're in for." Perseus said.

Andromeda and Ariadne looked a bit nervous, but Percy assured them it was fine.

The parking lot has been surrounded with a tape to keep people from interfering. Percy had made a public statement that him and his team are going to be taking on a World Boss. Naturally, this sparked the media and the community on fire.

Percy saw his friends waving towards him from the other side of the tape. Artemis, Annabeth, Thalia, Nico, and Frank.

"Hey, glad you can make it." Percy said.

"Are you kidding me?" Frank said. "This is our chance to get some intel on your team."

"Plus," Annabeth said. "We want to see if you're serious about our bet, or are you just full of shit."

Percy shrugged. "We'll see."

"Come on, Percy." Artemis said. "I'm not doubting your abilities or your teammates', but only five people against a World Boss?"

"I'm just here to see you get beat into a pulp." Thalia grinned.

Percy sighed. "Thanks for the support, Airhead." Then he turned towards Artemis. "Enjoy the show, Arty." He said before going back towards his team.

"So, what's the plan?" Perseus asked.

Percy took a deep breath. "Perseus, you're the tank. Use your Paladin class and do your job."

"You got it," Perseus nodded with assurance.

Paladin is a highly defensive class that use spells that provides barriers and protections as a method of tanking. They tend to have high attack damage as well and are capable of self-healing. The only downside to this class if the low mana pool, which is needed to cast spells.

"Andromeda, you're going to be our main damage dealer. As the Arcana, it's your job to keep dealing damage to the enemy."

"Leave it to me," Andromeda smirked.

Arcana is one of the hardest classes to master. It is a summoning based class that uses twenty-two summons in its arsenal of spells, each having a different effect. They're based off the tarot deck from fortune tellers, only this one is much more complex. Some of the summons deals damage, some protect their allies, while some debuff the enemy. It takes a great bit of skill to memorize all twenty two summons and their functions and even greater skill to fully utilize them in combat.

"Our rear support is Orpheus and Ariadne." Percy finished.

"You can leave it to us to take care of your asses." Orpheus mused. He uses the Musician class. The Musician buffs allies through music, and nothing more. Although it sounds useless, Musician has the widest variety of spells in their arsenal, ranging from healing to making an ally move faster to making them hit harder.

"Percy, if we win this, you're treating us to cheeseburgers right?" Ariadne asked. She uses the Archangel class. Archangel is the dream class for a support player. They can manage their teammates' mana and HP around, to make sure everybody stays alive that only they can use.

Resurrection.

"We'll see about that," Percy grinned. He looked at his clock in his Glasses' display. It's almost ten o'clock. The World Boss is going to spawn any minute.

"What class will you be using, Percy?" Andromeda asked.

"Weaver," Percy said. His team looked at him with uncertainty.

"Are you sure about this?" Orpheus asked. "You know how risky that is, don't you?"

Percy nodded. "I can do it." His team didn't look very assured, but they didn't say much. Weaver is the only class in Cut Content that comes with a caution warning. Naturally, that's the class that got Percy's attention.

Weaver is a class that weaves the fabric of the game up to a certain extent. For now, all Percy can do is change the landscape of the game. He could conjure up brick walls for defense, or turn the tarmac into a sandpit. He could even make gravity feel heavier than it usually is, or lighter.

Of course, that's only through the display of the AR Glasses and the neurotransmitter. If used on another player, it would only feel like they're dropping through a sand pit while in reality, nothing has changed.

But that's where the dangers come in. If Percy loses focus in maintaining the illusion he creates, that would create abnormalities that would end up crashing the game, shutting Olympia down for a short period of time. Which is why it is dangerous to use.

Percy could hear the crowd roaring around them. There were helicopters overhead circling them with cameras and spotlights. Cameras were recording them and some were taking pictures. He didn't mind. All the exposure he's getting just helps further his goals.

Then, a notification popped up in his AR Glasses display.

* * *

 _World Boss Incoming!_

* * *

"Get ready!" Percy said.

The monster seemed to shimmer into existence. From the neck up, it had the face of a beautiful woman with pale skin and golden hair. From then on it got weird as her head was attached to the body of a lion with fur as golden as her hair. The wings on her back spanned so that it looked like she had wings the length of a school bus on each side.

Percy read the name of the World Boss that stood a towering ten feet tall.

* * *

 _Sphinx_

* * *

"Oh boy," Ariadne muttered. "Heard of her. This is gonna be a hard battle."

"What? Is she going to ask us riddles?" Orpheus mused. On cue, the Sphinx let out a piercing screech. "No sense of humour, I see."

"Since when do monsters have -" Andromeda didn't finish her sentence as the Sphinx lunged, claws at the ready.

"Look out!" Percy shouted. Perseus may be a tank, but he's fast as he stood in between the Sphinx and Andromeda.

"Can we chat later?" Perseus grunted under the swipes of the Sphinx's paw, each swipe letting out a clanging sound from the metal shield of Perseus against the Sphinx's claws.

"Ariadne, keep an eye on Perseus's health bar." Percy said, his mind being pumped by adrenaline. "Orpheus, I need you to buff Andromeda. We're going to wait for her summons."

"Five seconds," Andromeda said. Orpheus nodded as he started to pluck on his lyre. The soothing music seems to fill his team with warmth.

Percy took a deep breath before holding his hands out. "Prison," He muttered softly. The tarmac beneath the Sphinx moved against the laws of physics as they lashed out like a whip and wrapped themselves around the body and wings of the Sphinx.

The Sphinx roared defiantly as she struggled to break free.

"Arcana Summon 19," Andromeda chanted. "The Sun."

From above the Sphinx, a shining beam of light landed on top of the monster, like a spotlight. But it was a different. The ray of light was emitting waves of heat like no other.

"Sunstrike!" Andromeda finished her chant as the ray of light intensified. An explosion occurred right where the Sphinx is.

Just like that, a quarter of the Sphinx's health bar was diminished.

"I need time to recharge," Andromeda muttered tiredly. Smoke was coming out from the Sphinx's body, but she wasn't dead. Perseus did his best to block the Sphinx's attack, but the aggro has shifted to Andromeda now.

"Sink," Percy chanted again. And again, the tarmac followed his instructions and turned to liquid, submerging the Sphinx's paws into the tarmac before hardening again.

Orpheus played a different tune on his lyre. Percy looked at the Sphinx's head to see that the Sphinx has now been inflicted with the Poison and Blind, at which the latter will make her miss most of her attacks.

"Perseus, back off and regain some health." Percy said. "Andromeda, are you good to go?"

"Eight more seconds," She huffed.

"Ariadne, on my signal, cast Dispel on all of us." Percy said calmly. "Andromeda, on my signal, use your strongest summon."

Both girls nodded. Percy then stared at the Sphinx, who had already broken free from the tarmac. She was now clawing and sweeping her wings blindly, hoping to hit any one of them.

"Perseus," Percy called. "I need you to distract the monster for eight seconds."

"She has aggro on Andromeda." Perseus pointed out.

"Get her aggro then," Percy said. "Orpheus, back him up."

The two went to work as Percy got ready for their combo play. As Perseus struck with his golden axe against the body of the Sphinx, the monster roared and started to swipe wildly at Perseus.

Orpheus played a fast paced tune that envelops Perseus in a glowing white aura, in which Perseus continued his assault on the Sphinx relentlessly.

Percy took a deep breath and focused his vision on the Sphinx's head. This spell was going to affect everyone, even his allies. Which is why he waited for Andromenda's summon to be up for use.

"Andromeda, you ready?" Percy asked.

"Guys, she's going into her Second Phase!" Orpheus pointed out.

"Go!" Andromeda said.

"Flash freeze!" Percy shouted. "Ariadne, now!"

From above, a blizzard ensued that hit everyone in the parking lot, except the audience. The Sphinx was now half frozen and Percy could feel himself freezing up.

"Dispel!" Ariadne casts her spell. The freezing feeling that Percy had felt moments before had disappeared.

Dispel is a spell that removes the debuff on allies. It's a useful spell that can have a great impact in battle.

Just on time as well, because if Ariadne had casted a second later, they would've been frozen by Percy's spell.

Then, it's Andromeda's turn. "Arcana Summon Seven," She mumbled. "The Chariot."

A portal opened up in front of her as a chariot rode through it. The chariot itself was ghastly white, as if it was made specifically for ghosts. It was pulled by two ghostly horses and was driven by a headless man.

The man was holding something what looked like a jousting lance that was probably longer than Percy.

"Piercing Drive!" Andromeda shouted out. The chariot accelerated at full speed, gunning towards the block of ice encasing the Sphinx.

Andromeda's summon rammed through the block of ice as if it was nothing, shattering it into a million pieces before disappearing like smoke. The Sphinx's health bar went straight to zero. Percy and his team received the notification saying that they've won against a World Boss.

"Nice job, team." Percy grinned.

"You know, that was a really dangerous move," Perseus raised an eyebrow at his team leader.

Percy shrugged. "I'm all for flashy moves." He said simply. He looked over to where Artemis and the others were standing. They looked more angry than awed. "See you back at HQ."

The crowd around them were cheering and shouting, but Percy paid them no attention.

Artemis was surprised at him, but she looked relieved as well, while Annabeth looked miffed. Thalia and Frank looked like they've seen ghosts, which was probably true considering Andromeda's summon.

"Mind explaining what's going on?" Annabeth asked.

"There's nothing to explain." Percy said simply. "You guys saw what happened."

"It's not that," Thalia said. "How did you get the hidden classes? Not to mention, your whole team has them!"

"This is not fair," Frank whined.

"I got lucky." Percy shrugged. Artemis raised an eyebrow at him, but she didn't press. Percy knew that she knew if Percy was lying.

"You said last night that you didn't know anything about the hidden classes." Annabeth glared at him. "You lied to me?"

"Well, it was a white lie." Percy admitted.

"Wait, you were with Annabeth last night?" Artemis asked as she glared into the depths of Percy's soul. Her expression morphed from relief to anger. "What did you guys do?"

"Doesn't matter!" Annabeth said. "I demand an answer, Percy!"

"Well so do I!" Artemis exclaimed.

This isn't going to end well.

* * *

 **A/N: Thought I'd end it there. Peace!**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry I've been off the grid with this story. I've just hit a writer's block. Hence, the other stories. Anyways, I'm back. Rejoice!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

The word about Percy's new team spread out like wildfire. Most were negative, saying that they cheat their way into these new seemingly unobtainable classes.

Technically, 'being granted access to' isn't really cheating.

But it did what Percy expected it to do. The Argonauts gained a lot of attention on their team while the others who worked behind the scene are left ignored.

Now Jay can resume protecting Olympia from the real hackers without too much attention to himself.

Percy was studying the Cut Content in his room, trying to figure out what kind of class suits him.

The Weaver class was too dangerous to use. Sure, you can manipulate the environment and make it seem like that to your opponents, but if you lose focus the Glasses will overload your brain, causing permanent damage. During their little raid with the Sphinx, Percy had barely made it through. He was getting a bit of a headache after the fight and that was before Artemis and Annabeth started asking questions.

There were a lot of Cut Content that Poseidon didn't release to Olympia. Some of them even require a higher level of access than what Percy had.

As he scrolled through everything, Orpheus bursts into the room. Percy jumped in surprise. "Don't you ever knock, damn it?"

Orpheus grinned. "Watcha' doing?" He asked while wiggling his eyebrows.

Percy sighed. "I'm trying to find another class to use. The Weaver class was a bit risky and terrifying to use."

"We did warn you," Orpheus pointed out. He pulled out a chair and sat in front of Percy. "What kind of class you're looking for?"

"Well, Perseus is our tank so I'm gonna leave that job to him." Percy said with a thoughtful expression. "You and Ariadne are our supports, so we don't need another one."

"So, you're planning to be a damage dealer?" Orpheus asked. "We are lacking in damage. Andromeda can't handle all that by herself."

"More or less," Percy see-sawed his hand. "But if I focus on being a damage dealer, I won't be able to focus on our tactics and orders. You do know I love to tell you guys to do stupid stuff."

"Yeah, because you're an idiot yourself." Orpheus smirked. "So, a semi damage dealer then?"

"Yes. Something that can deal damage and dictate the tempo of battle." Percy said.

"Why not try the Maestro class?"

"Nah," Percy waved him off. "I'm too dumb for that class. Plus, it doesn't deal that many damage."

(Side A/N: I know some people are gonna recognize this, especially if you're an avid MOBA player, especially Dota. I'm going to rip off one of the characters. Sue me. It's a cool concept. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then this is a very original idea made by me.)

"Hmm," Orpheus stared into the floor. Then, he snapped his fingers. "Invoker."

"What?"

"Hercules and I did a thorough searching through Olympia's files once. We couldn't access some of it because we didn't have high enough level of access. But we stumbled upon a section of the game that was hidden even from the Cut Content." Orpheus explained in a hushed tone.

"You mean a hidden content inside a hidden content?" Percy asked. Orpheus nodded. "That seems, strange."

"When we looked through, most of it is encrypted and were locked. But I managed to bust through one of them and unlocked a class. Invoker." Orpheus said. The way he always looked behind him made him look a bit paranoid.

"Well, show me." Percy said. Orpheus nodded and transferred the files over to Percy's AR Glasses. "Wow, that's a bunch of stuff to go through."

"It's not like any other classes." Orpheus said. "You should be careful though. They've kept it hidden for a reason."

"Thanks," Percy said. "What makes you think that this class is suitable for me?"

"You'll see." Orpheus grinned and winked. He opened the door and was about to leave before he turned around. "And Percy, take your time with it." He said before leaving.

Percy wondered what that meant. The Invoker class was now in his disposal, but he knew nothing about it. So he decided to give it a read.

After a few minutes, he now understood what Orpheus meant.

The Invoker class is a really complex class that can be either a damage dealer or a support. With most classes, they have up to five spells. Some even have eight or nine. Invoker has only three spells that spawn one reagent each. The spells are Quas, Wex, and Exort and they control the elements of ice, storm, and fire respectively.

While Invoker technically has three spells only, these spells act as a way to invoke other spells based on their combination. For example, three instances of the ice reagent, Quas, invokes the spell Cold Snap, in which the target that is afflicted with it will be frozen for half a second for each fifty damage that they take. The debuff lasts for five seconds. Considering the amount of damage that some classes can deal, that can lead to a five second stun.

The total number of combinations from the reagents would lead to thirteen spells in total. That means Percy has to memorize the combination of these three reagents to create a specific spell and use that to fully utilize this class.

But Orpheus was right. This class suited Percy. It provided Percy with a lot of utility spells that he could use to dictate the tempo of battle and enough damage to be relevant in battle.

He has to try this class in battle. Percy got out of bed and went straight to the Argonauts' training room.

The training room was a very spacious room with white bright tiles covering the floor and ceiling. The walls showed real time footage of any view you like. Since this was a secret organization, Jay didn't want actual windows for people to peek into.

Percy put on his glasses. Considering he's mainly going to be casting spells, he used a staff as a weapon of choice. The staff looked like something a Sorcerer or Enchanter would use. A wooden staff almost as high as Percy, its end is wrapped around a white crystal.

He'd never been one for casting spells. Melee combat is his specialty, but since he's a captain now he has to do this. It's hard to be a captain when you're in the frontlines with a melee weapon. There's so much to do aside from captaining the team. Because of that, Percy goes to a more supportive role instead of being a full blown damage dealer.

Percy took a deep breath. He decided to keep an open window in his AR Glasses for the list of possible spells that he can use. He hasn't memorized them all, but he's going to try.

He looked at the first spell on the list. One Quas and one Exort, which invokes the spell Shroud of Flames. This spell can be used on either an ally or himself and it reduces any magic damage that the person takes while applying the Burn status effect onto the attacker. It's a perfect spell to put on players who play in the frontlines because they're the ones that are most likely to be attacked. While increasing their defence against magical damage, it also damages the attacker.

Percy took a deep breath. "Quas. Exort." Two orbs appear floating around him. One orb was icy blue in colour while the other was flaming red. The orbs looked like balls of compressed energy. He then clasped his hands together and the two orbs collided. "Shroud of Flames." He said. The orbs created a layer of flames surrounding Percy.

Percy grinned to himself and started to try different combinations. "Exort. Exort. Exort." He muttered like a chant. Three flaming red orbs - Exort - appeared and floated around him. He clenched his hand in a fist and the three orbs merged into one. "Sunstrike." He said. At the far end of the room, there was a loud high-pitched sound as a ray of light shone from the ceiling. After more than a second, the area around the ray of light exploded into a pillar of flames, similar to Andromeda's skill.

Sunstrike was a spell that can deal a ton of damage depending on who it hits. If it hits one person, it deals almost seven hundred pure damage, which pierces magical resistance. If it hits multiple people, the damage is distributed equally among the people who're hit. The flaws of this spell is the fact that there's a delay between when Percy casts it and when the damage is actually dealt, making it easy to dodge. Plus, there's a high-pitched sound to warn that it's coming and the damage is distributed unless it hits a single target.

Percy was getting excited. He decided to try another combination. "Wex. Wex. Quas." Three orbs appeared around him, two of them were purple in color which was Wex and the blue one was Quas. The three orbs combined into one. "Tornado." Percy spun around and made a baseball pitch towards the far end of the room as the orb followed his movement.

The orb flew and transformed into a miniature tornado. The spell goes about halfway through the room before it vanishes into the air.

Percy looked at his mana bar to see that it's half empty. The spells consume a lot of mana, so he has to manage them properly so that he doesn't run out.

As Percy tried the different combination this class offers, the more excited he got. The list of spells goes on: Firestorm, Chaos Meteor, Ghost Walk, Alacrity, and some more. They all have their own functions, but Percy realized something about this class. Make that a few things.

Some of the big spells, like Tornado and Chaos Meteor, have really long cooldowns. The Chaos Meteor spell is over a minute. In a game like Olympia, where speed is one of the main key to victory, that's going to be a problem.

Another flaw of this class is the fact that the way to cast them takes a long time. You can't expect the enemy to wait as you say the combination of reagents for your spells. Percy needed a quicker way to cast these spells for them to be efficient.

And he knew just how to do it.

 **Line Break**

Percy was meeting Artemis and the rest of his friends when a breaking news dropped in the forums of Olympia.

* * *

 _Olympia's Important Announcement!_

 _Olympia stated that it will make a huge announcement for an update of the game, which is said to go on live tonight. The players of Olympia has been waiting for such updates and it's been a while since Olympia had announced anything officially._

 _What can we expect from the new update?_

 _Perhaps the usual update of new World Bosses and Items. Maybe a few balancing updates for some classes. But what the players would really like to see is the increase in the rate of drops for "hidden classes" and "hidden items". So far, only one person have been seen obtaining such class and that is the star of the Rookie Showcase disaster, Percy Jackson._

 _Is he really that lucky? Or did he have his ways? We'll find out soon enough._

* * *

Percy just rolled his eyes at the article. They always want to find something bad to write about him. He didn't care that much, but it annoyed him.

Percy entered the Orphanage to find Artemis, Thalia and Jason were already waiting for him. They were in the middle of a conversation when Percy entered. Thalia's eyes lit up as she rushed over and tried to tackle Percy, but he got out of the way.

"I thought we agreed no more of that?" Percy raised an eyebrow.

Thalia pouted. "But I missed you."

Percy couldn't help but smile. "I missed you too." He gave her a hug. "How are you doing with the Rebellion?"

Thalia shrugged. "Piper's been busy recruiting and Nico's busy training them. So I've got some free time to kill. Their training's rough though. Piper recruited like twenty people and only three made the cut."

"Really?"

Thalia nodded. "Since the Rebellion was originally made to defend Olympia against hackers, not everyone is suited for the job." Thalia scratched her head. "Though I gotta say, that Will Solace guy has some serious potential."

As they were talking, Percy sat next to Artemis who leaned in and gave him a peck on the cheek. "I didn't know you had some free time."

Artemis shrugged. "The Hunt is taking a few days break and to prepare. We plan to go on against a World Boss this weekend for training. Plus, the Flamers are catching up with the score."

"The Flamers? Frank's team?" Percy asked. Artemis nodded. "What score?"

"Teams from all over the world are put in the Leaderboard. The rankings on the board are based on the amount of World Bosses they've beaten and PvPs they've won." Artemis explained as she took a bite out of an apple. "Minerva and the Roman Legion are only a point apart, with the Roman Legion being in the lead."

"You got that right," Jason grinned smugly.

Artemis chuckled. "Close behind is the Hunt, followed by the Flamers." Then she looked at Thalia quizzically. "And I think the Rebellion is fifth, right?"

Thalia nodded. "We're not really focusing on the Leaderboard right now. We're just trying to recruit people."

"So, what does the Leaderboard do for anyone?" Percy asked.

"You're a captain. You should know." Jason rolled his eyes. "The Leaderboard is sort of like a way of telling the world, 'Hey, my team is really good and attracts many people'. It lets people know how good your team is."

"And that's useful because?"

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Invites and deals, dork. There are companies who are willing to do sponsorship deals with some the professional Olympia teams. Plus, tournament organizers tend to invite teams who are at the top of the Leaderboard because they're good and they make for good entertainment. If you invite an unknown team into a tournament, no one is gonna want to watch that."

Percy shrugged. "Makes sense." He said simply. "Anyway, where' s Hestia?"

"Oh, she's out with the rest of the kids." Jason explained. "She's taking them for a trip to the museum. I don't really understand her fascination of Greek history."

"You guys have any plans for tonight?" Percy asked.

"Not really," Jason said. "Thalia and I were planning to join some random raids maybe, if there's any interesting ones."

"I'm bored." Thalia whined. "And I'm tired of seeing Nico's face all the time."

"It's not like the Minotaur's face is an improvement from his," Jason said. "Don't tell him I said that."

They laughed. "How about you, Arty?" Percy asked. "Any plans for tonight?"

"Not really." Artemis said. "I was planning to spend some time with you. I still think you're hiding something from me."

Percy rolled his eyes. "I thought we cleared everything up. I got lucky and got the drop for the classes."

"Do you really expect us to believe that?" Thalia asked. "It has less than one percent drop rate. Technically speaking, you would have a better chance of seeing me in a Barbie doll outfit rather than getting a drop like that."

Percy mused at the thought of Thalia dressing up like a Barbie doll. "I think you can pull it off."

"Not even in fifteen thousand lifetimes." Thalia grumbled. "Will you just tell us how you get the class?"

"Yeah dude," Jason said. "The Roman Legion have been fighting World Bosses for days. The best thing we got from it is just a ton of gold and some rare items."

Artemis pouted at him. "Please?"

Percy looked at the trio and finally caved in. "Fine." Then, he fixed them with a stern look. "But you have to promise that this information doesn't come out of this room. Not even to your team. Got it?"

"But-" Jason started but Percy interrupted.

"It's either that or I don't tell you anything."

Jason grumbled. "Fine."

Percy took a deep breath. "I really wasn't lying." Percy said. "I got the class from a drop against a World Boss." They wanted to argue, but Percy stopped them. "But, not just any regular World Boss."

"What do you mean?" Artemis asked.

"I don't really know how to explain it. It has to be a specific World Boss. The one I fought was in the middle of the night and it was brutal. You know how usually when you're in a raid against a World Boss, you just go for the boss, right?" Percy asked. The three of them nodded. "But when I fought this particular one, we have to fight waves of enemies first."

"Was there a World Boss like that before?" Jason asked.

"I don't think so. At least not one that I've fought and read about." Thalia said.

"Yeah, well, it was hard. Plus, you only get one shot on it. So if you lose, you can't try again. Not even for other people. The World Boss can only be fought once by someone and that's it. If they either win or lose, the boss disappears."

"Wow," Jason said. "No wonder it had such low drop rates."

"Maybe that's why nobody's had gotten it." Thalia said. "It's probably World Bosses that no one has ever seen, so there's no tactic against it. And since it can only be challenged once, that'll make it almost impossible to beat.

Percy sighed internally. He had to feed them that story to keep his friends off the scent. The truth was that he got the classes from being able to access the Cut Content of Olympia. But the one he told was also the truth. Just the wrong truth.

"I guess it's decided." Jason said. "We're gonna go World Boss hunting at midnight."

"I'm gonna join you guys," Artemis said. Then she turned towards Percy and looked at him sweetly. "You'll join too, won't you?"

Percy groaned mentally. "Fine. It's not like I have anything to do anyway." Percy said. Artemis smiled gleefully. "By the way, we should bring in more people so that the fight is easier."

"I thought you said that this was supposed to be a secret?" Thalia asked.

"Yeah, but I know someone who already knows about this." Percy said.

 **Line Break**

"What on earth made you think that this was a good idea?" Thalia shouted on the teamspeak right through their ears. She grunted as she shielded herself from the blow of one of the Valkyries and sidestepped the spear of another.

They found the World Boss that they were looking for in a nearby playground for kids. There was no one around because it was midnight, which is nice. Similar to Percy's fight with the Styx, they got the option to go straight for the World Boss after the tenth wave.

The reward for clearing this World Boss was the Arch Angel class, which is one of the best classes in existence right now. It has insane healing capabilities, a resurrection spell and boasts tremendous mana pool and health bar.

That was the good news.

The bad news?

They were up against Valkyries.

If it had been one or two Valkyries, they would've probably been fine. Even three would've been a victory for them.

But six?

That's just insane. They weren't fighting against a World Boss. They were fighting against World Boss _es_

The Valkyries were all identical. They wore golden headpieces with white feathery wings on its sides. Their gold and white armor gleamed from the lights around the playground. They had metallic wings that can either shoot metal feathers as sharp as knives or shield themselves with it.

Their facial features are the same, blank white eyes, black lips and an expressionless face except for the occasional scowl and yell of anger every time they attack. They're also armed with maces, as if the metallic wings weren't enough.

Oh, and they fly too.

The only upside to this fight is the fact that they all share one health bar. If any one of the six Valkyries take damage, the health bar goes down.

Percy was using his Duelist class, because he didn't want to raise any suspicion from using the Invoker class. Jason is using his Fencer class while Artemis is their Archer. Annabeth, the person who Percy invited, was their main support and was playing her recently obtained classs, Maestro.

Annabeth was casting debuffs on the Valkyries, buffs on her allies and provided heals on everyone all by herself. This goes to show how overpowered these hidden classes were.

"Less talking, more tanking!" Annabeth said. "Jason, five seconds before 'Sharp Edge' is ready again. Until then, wait for my signal. Percy, you follow Jason's lead."

"Got it." Jason said.

"Artemis, can you use your 'Paralysis Arrow'?"

"It's up in eight seconds." Artemis said as she fired an arrow towards one of the Valkyrie. The Valkyrie blocked it with her wings and screeched as it fired metal feathers at Artemis.

Artemis cursed before moving out of position. "That's really annoying."

"I'll have 'Orchestra's Symphony' up and running in a minute. Thalia, can you hold out until then?"

"Depends if you can stop them from attacking me." Thalia grumbled as she blocked a mace from one of the Valkyries. "If their DPS goes on like this, I won't last thirty seconds."

"Shit," Annabeth muttered. Jason went on to attack one of the Valkyries. The Valkyrie turned towards him and was about to smash his skull in, but Jason dodged out of the way and stabbed her right in the neck.

The Valkyrie screeched as it fell to one knee. "One's crippled." Jason said.

"Careful not to draw aggro." Annabeth reminded him. "Thalia, use 'Warrior's Challenge'."

"Got it." Thalia said. Thalia then smashed her shield and spear together before letting out a howl that sounded similar to a wolf's. The Valkyries screeched before they all lunged in to attack her.

Warrior's Challenge is a skill that inflicts the enemy with the Taunt status effect. This makes the enemy unable to attack anyone else but the person who casts the spell. If they do, they'll be hit with a devastating counter attack.

"Go!" Annabeth said to Percy and Jason. "I have 'Sharp Edge' ready!"

Sharp Edge is a buff that's applied to an ally, where the person with the buff will have an increased rate of dealing critical damage.

Percy and Jason went to work side by side, taking care of the Valkyries. One of the was still crippled, so they left her as they worked on her sisters.

Artemis fired a Powershot straight towards the head of one of the Valkyrie. In one horrible screech, she disappeared into dust.

One down, five more to go.

Percy tried as best as he could to keep up a constant amount of damage to all of the Valkyries at the same time while Jason was more focused on a single target.

"'Orchestra's Symphony," Annabeth muttered her spell. Around them, a magic circle lit up as the atmosphere was filled with the music of an orchestra.

Orchestra's Symphony is one of the Maestro's most powerful spell. It removes all debuffs on their allies while healing them at set intervals. The spell also inflicts the Damage Amplify debuff on their enemies, in which they take more damage.

Percy looked at the list of party members to see Thalia's health is slowly regenerating. Thalia thrusts her spear forward, impaling one of the Valkyries in the chest as it disappeared in to dust, just like the previous one.

Four more.

As soon as the second Valkyrie was defeated, the remaining ones screamed collectively and flew upwards towards the sky until Percy couldn't see them.

"Where are they?" Percy asked.

"Did they run?" Artemis asked.

"Did we win?" Jason asked.

Neither of them get the answer they wanted as one Valkyrie suddenly dropped from the sky like a suicidal skydiver in a nosedive. The first one divebombed Thalia, at which the area the Valkyrie landed exploded and sent Thalia flying and her health bar went empty.

"Thalia!" Annabeth shouted. Another Valkyrie dove in and exploded right next to Annabeth and Artemis. Their health bars, which were almost full, went empty in an instant.

"Look out!" Jason shouted. He tackled Percy out of the way as another kamikaze Valkyrie slammed into the ground like a homing missile.

"There should be one more." Percy said as he looked around the sky to see if the other one was planning on divebombing them as well.

He waited for a few seconds, but nothing happened. "Where is it?" Jason asked.

Just as Percy thought that they were finally safe, the other three Valkyrie that had dived in towards the ground suddenly moved towards them. They spread their wings wide and closed in on Jason and Percy, trapping them in one spot.

That's when Percy looked up to see the fourth Valkyrie coming towards them.

"Shit." Percy muttered as the Valkyrie collided with them head on.

* * *

 **A/N: Ta-da!**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: I have nothing to comment on. So, onwards!**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

"That sucked." Thalia grumbled as she ate a french fry. They were now at the local burger joint after their ruthless defeat to the Valkyries.

"Yeah," Jason sighed. "You weren't kidding about how difficult they would be. I'm surprised you managed to defeat the World Boss that gave you one of the hidden classes."

Annabeth glared at Percy as he just shrugged. "I had help."

"Uh huh," Annabeth said clearly unimpressed. "He solo'ed the fucking boss, which I found it hard to believe."

Percy had told Artemis all about the night where he, Annabeth and Zoe tried to go and defeat a World Boss. Artemis didn't know that _that_ was the World Boss Percy was talking about when he got the Maestro class.

"Well, we missed our shot." Artemis took a bite out of her fry. "I guess we just need to keep looking for more tomorrow night."

"I'm free until the weekend." Thalia said. "Nico and Piper are busy with the new recruits so I have nothing better to do anyway. Plus, it's good exercise."

"Yeah, I'm up for tomorrow." Annabeth said. "We won't be doing any raids or battles any time soon, so I'm have some free time."

Jason groaned. "I'm gonna have to pass. If I'm not at training tomorrow, Reyna's going to kick my butt."

"I guess it's the four of us then." Percy grinned as he chewed through his cheeseburger. "But I don't think we can defeat a World Boss with just the four of us." Percy said with a mouthful of food.

Annabeth looked at him in disgust. "First of all, ew. Don't talk with your mouth full." Annabeth grumbled. "Second, I don't think anyone else is available for the week. And we need to keep this a secret, remember?"

"Good point." Artemis added. "I mean, there're several people in my team that I know are handy in a fight, but I doubt that they could keep a secret."

Percy was thinking if he could bring one of his team members for their little raid. That's going to raise some suspicion. Plus, he didn't know anyone from the Argonauts that wouldn't act like an idiot around his friends that wouldn't embarrass him.

He was about to say something, but Jason interrupted them. "Hey guys, it's the Olympia announcement." He nudged at the TV hanging from the wall.

The Olympia logo played on the screen as one of Olympia's most prominent developer popped up into the screen, Hephaestus. Most people call him Hep.

The five of them were focused on the TV. Percy hadn't heard anything about what Olympia wants to announce from his father, so he was anxious about what they were about to reveal.

Hep cleared his throat. "I'm here to make a very huge announcement for all players of Olympia." He said, as if it wasn't obvious. "To all players, Olympia is now announcing the release of Dungeons."

"Dungeons? Like a basement?" Thalia asked but Annabeth shushed her as they listened to what Hep has to say.

"Olympia has picked and built a handful of places to host Olympia's newest Dungeon system. Dungeons serve as a large area where players can obtain rare loots by defeating gauntlets of enemies. At the end of each dungeon, there will be a never-seen-before World Boss that you will have to face. Aside from the highest of quality and rarest item drops from the bosses, they also drop hidden classes, which is something that most of you are dying to get." Hep explained.

The five of them were engrossed in what Hep's saying, as well as everyone in the burger joint.

"Dungeons are only available to twenty people at a time and will take a day to reset before another team can attempt to clear it." Hep continued. "If a party member of yours depletes their health bar in the process of clearing the a Dungeon, they will be unable to continue along with their party members. If anyone exits the dungeon in the middle of clearing it, they're not able to participate in it again until the next reset. The update goes live tonight along with several patch notes. Good luck and have fun." Hep finished off as the broadcast ended.

Percy looked at each of them and they looked at each other. There was a momentary moment where they locked eyes with one another and Percy knew that they were thinking the same thing.

"Dungeon raid?" Percy asked. They all nodded and scrambled to get to the nearest Dungeon they could find.

 **Line Break**

As expected, the Olympia forums and news website blew up. Thousands of players were suddenly looking for where the Dungeons are placed. Luckily, it's the middle of the night. If it had been during the day, there would be a lot more traffic.

Thalia contacted Nico and Piper, to which they agreed immediately and brought in their new recruits. Frank was already on his way along with Hazel and Leo. Reyna decided to ditch training and joined them, though she was hesitant at first.

"We need six more people," Thalia said as Percy sped with their car.

"Any word on Luke?" Percy asked.

"Can't contact him." Thalia grumbled. "I don't know where he is."

"I can ask Zoe to come with us." Artemis said. "Where are we heading anyway?"

"The abandoned parking lot near the Plaza," Percy said. "It's one of the placed that gets turned into a Dungeon."

"You mean that old and high parking lot building?" Jason asked. "Is that place even safe?"

Percy shrugged. "Beats me." He said as he swerved to the right, making everyone in the car lean left.

"Okay, that leaves us with five more people." Thalia said. "Can we even clear the Dungeon with fifteen people?"

"Don't know. Never tried a Dungeon before." Jason shrugged.

Thalia hit him on the shoulder. "You guys have anyone you can call?"

"How about your team, Percy?" Artemis asked.

Percy gulped. "I'll try contacting them later." He wasn't really keen on getting his team involved with his friends, mainly because they use hidden classes. But if push comes to shove, he's gonna have to contact them anyway.

"We're here." Percy said as he parked in front of the building. The building was an abandoned parking lot built up to fifteen stories high with the purpose of providing a more suitable parking space for people who are going to the Plaza. Unfortunately, after a thorough inspection by the authorities, the building was unstable and not suited for housing tons of cars. So the project was left to rot.

The white paint of the walls were peeling off, revealing the cement. It had plants growing in and out of it. Judging from the look of it, it seems like the building can handle twenty people.

"This looks . . . creepy." Thalia said as Percy drove into a tunnel that leads to the building's basement.

"I think it's safe." Annabeth assured them. The place is just not meant to hold tons of cars. I think it can hold us."

"You _think_?" Artemis muttered. "That's reassuring."

As they arrived at one of the entrances that lead to a stairway upstairs, their UI display labeled the door.

* * *

 _Muspelheim Raid Entrance_

* * *

"Looks like this is it." Percy said. "Now we just gotta wait for the others."

Annabeth nodded. "In the mean time, we should organize our gear. From the name Muspelheim, I'm guessing this Dungeon is going to be filled with fire based enemies."

"How do you know?" Artemis asked.

"In Norse mythology, Muspeheim is one of the nine realms that existed. It's called called the Realm of Fire." Annabeth explained. "Based on that, things are probably going get heated during the raid."

After preparing and waiting for a few minutes, the rest of their friends arrived. Leo looked excited while Reyna looked very eager.

Nico brought along three of their recruits. One of them was Will Solace, the recruit that Thalia mentioned. He uses the Priest class, so he'll be one of our rear line supports along with Hazel, Piper and Annabeth.

Another recruit was actually Nico's sister, Bianca di Angelo. When Percy saw the side by side, he could see the resemblance between the two of them aside from the pale skin and olive coloured eyes. Bianca uses Magician as her class.

Magician is a class that's mainly used for crowd control. Most of their spells hits multiple target and is good for dealing damage if there's a bunch of enemies. With Dungeons being basically a monster infested place, having a Magician in their party is better.

The last recruit was a girl named Clarisse La Rue. Clarisse scared Percy a little bit because she's a bit taller than Percy and was built like a rugby player. Her face seemed to be stuck in the expression of a permanent sneer, as if everything amuses her.

Clarisse plays as a Monk, which is one of the Tank classes. Unlike Vanguards and Shieldbearers who use shields to tank damage, Monks mostly absorb magic damage. They have spells that enable them to reduce the amount of magic damage that they take. Also unlike other Tanks, Monks use gauntlets instead of shields. They move faster than other Tanks as well, using evasion as a method of 'tanking'.

Zoe arrived and just nodded at Percy as a greeting, at which Percy nodded back. So there are fifteen people in all. Percy did a headcount.

For tanks, they have Clarisse, Thalia, and Frank

For the physical damage dealers, they have Percy, Jason, Reyna, Artemis and Zoe.

Their magic damage includes Nico, Leo, and Bianca.

And their rear line supports are Hazel, Piper, Annabeth and Will.

Percy wanted to make one small change.

"Hey, Annabeth." Percy went towards Annabeth as she was finished gearing up. "Can I talk to you about something?"

"What is it?" Annabeth asked.

"I want to try the captain role for this." Percy said.

Annabeth frowned. "You do know it's not gonna be easy for you to do this while being in front dealing damage, don't you?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm asking so that we switch positions." Percy said. "You still use your Assassin class, don't you?"

"Of course."

"Use it then." Percy said. "I'll handle the back lines."

"You sure?" Annabeth asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I need more experience." Percy said. "Plus, there's something I want to try out."

Annabeth shrugged. "Okay then." She said. "But if we fail this raid, you're buying everyone cheeseburgers."

"Fine." Percy said. In Percy's UI display, the list of all Party members were lined up in a grid of five by three, with fifteen slots in total. Each slot shows each member in Percy's party right now, along with their health bar and mana bar. Percy placed it on the side of his Glasses, just so it doesn't interfere with Percy's vision in battle.

Percy then equipped his special weapon. It was a black wooden staff, a few inches taller than Percy. At the tip, the staff split out into three different branches, each of which was wrapped with a small crystal at the end. It looked like Percy had the big version of the three armed claw at an arcade's claw machine.

"Um, what are you doing?" Artemis asked.

"I'm going to be playing from the back lines." Percy announced. "Annabeth will be in front."

"Do you know what you're doing?" Piper asked. "I mean, I'm sure you're a great captain. But I prefer Annabeth."

"Trust me on this." Percy said. "So, everyone ready?" They all nodded in agreement. "Let's clear this Dungeon then."

 **Line Break**

Turns out, Annabeth's prediction had been right. Most of the monsters they met here were fire based monsters.

They climbed from the Basement Level 2, where they started, to Basement Level 1. There, the fighting began almost instantaneously.

The lights in the building where somehow operational, which was nice because they almost couldn't see anything without lights. The smell of the environment was musty and damp.

When they arrived the Basement Level 1, their frontline tanks were attacked with a barrage of fireballs and flame torrents.

"Take cover!" Percy shouted the damage dealers hid behind the tanks and the rear line backed away from the flames' reach. "Piper, buff our resistance to magic. It's not very powerful for now, so that should lower the damage."

Piper nodded and casts a buff on everyone that reduces any incoming magical damage.

"Leo, Bianca," Percy called. "See if you can find where those flames come from. Attack on sight."

"On it," Leo said as he and Bianca went to work.

"Clarisse, go with them to absorb the flames." Percy said. Clarisse grunts as she moved along with Leo and Bianca. At the far end of the room, Fire Demons stood and screeched at them. At Percy's count, there's at least twenty of them.

"Artemis, Zoe. Take them out from the distance. Frank, make sure they don't hit the rest of our damage dealers. Thalia, be prepared to switch with Frank if his health gets too low." Percy ordered. He turned towards their damage dealers. "For you guys, kill their back line that's throwing fireballs at us. The melee units can be handled later.

Everyone nodded and moved in unison. Artemis and Zoe stood behind pillars as they shoot arrows at the Fire Demons. Frank moved towards where Clarisse was dodging a blow from one of the melee Fire Demons before she kicked it on the chest and sent it flying back.

Annabeth, Reyna and Jason went to work as they weaved past the front lines of the Fire Demons to attack on the back lines that were shooting fireballs at them.

"Will, Hazel, focus on healing our tanks. Piper will focus on our damage dealers." Percy said. "Nico, can you summon skeletons against them? Give them something to hit other than us."

Nico grinned as he used his Necromancer class to summon some skeletons around the room, acting as targets.

Jason, Reyna and Annabeth worked fast as they had already slashed down five of the Fire Demons, leaving only fifteen more to go.

Bianca used one of her spells 'Chain Lightning', in which she fired a single lightning bolt and it bounced around between the enemies, dealing damage to them. Clarisse finished one of them off before Artemis finished off another with 'Powershot'.

Frank was getting hammered by the melee units. Percy was about to tell him to switch when he let out a defiant roar. "Shield Crash!" He said out loud as he slammed his massive shield to the ground, creating a slight tremor and causing the fire demons to stumble. Hazel took advantage of it and casts Root on all of them at which they were no more than stationary targets.

"My turn," Percy grinned as he held his staff forward.

Percy had modified this staff specifically for the Invoker class. At the shaft of the staff, engraved four buttons coloured with red, blue and purple representing Exort, Quas, and Wex respectively. Percy held the staff on how you would normally hold a hammer, four fingers wrapped around the shaft with his thumb pointing at the tip of it.

The three buttons for Quas, Wex and Exort were aligned perfectly with his index finger, middle finger, and ring finger so they're easy to press. Near Percy's thumb is the fourth button coloured in white. It's there for the specific purpose of combining the reagents and conjuring the spell that Percy had made.

Percy pressed the buttons. Wex. Exort. Exort. Then he pressed the button to invoke the spell, 'Chaos Meteor'. Percy lifted his staff and smacked the butt of it to the ground.

From the ceiling, a giant flaming boulder came and crashed unto the enemies. It rolled for a few more seconds, flattening what's left of them before crumbling into dust.

What's left of the Fire Demons is a now a pile of rusty armor and swords.

They looked at Percy in disbelief. "What in god's name was that?" Leo asked.

Percy shrugged. "New spell. Come on, we need to move." Percy climbed up the staircase heading to the surface and the Ground Floor of the building.

Again, they met the Fire Demons but their numbers have increased. "Let's clear this floor," Percy grinned.

* * *

 **A/N: Thought I'd end it here. Oh, and let me know on how good or bad the fighting description was. I'm trying to improve as I write. I don't know if the fight scenes are too short or just enough. Your reviews would really help me write better. Thanks in advanced.**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: Again, not much to say. Onwards!**

 **Chapter 6**

By the time they arrived at the fourteenth floor, they were very tired. All of their health bar and mana bar are full thanks to their spells, but their stamina isn't holding up.

"This is surprisingly hard," Clarisse said. With the swarm of fired based monsters here, she took charge of most of the tanking. But it's taking its toll on her and now she's tired.

"No shit," Nico wheezed. "But I think we're almost there. After this one, it's the end of the Muspelheim Dungeon."

"It better be." Frank grumbled. "I don't think I have enough energy to walk up the stairs."

"My knees are killing me." Leo groaned.

"Come on guys." Percy said as he tried to boost their morale, but everyone was just too tired, including him. "Just two more floors. Then we'll get to the end."

"This shit better be worth it." Annabeth grumbled. "If I see some more Flaming Spiders, I'm out of here."

They managed to pick themselves up and went towards the end of the room. After the previous floors, Percy had expected this was going to be their toughest challenge yet. But no enemies spawned. The entire floor was empty.

"No enemies?" Jason asked tiredly. That seems like the case, but it's too good to be true. And when that's the case, it usually is.

"Keep an eye out," Percy said. "Thalia, stay in front of us. The rest of you stay alert."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Artemis said as she readied her bow.

"Don't worry, Percy will handle it." Annabeth said with a slight edge to her tone. Was she angry at Percy for not telling her about the class he's currently using?

The Invoker class did so much during their battles. It provided the damage and buffs that they needed. But the combinations of reagents still had Percy confused. Sometimes he would've accidentally conjured a different spell and sometimes his fingers kinda twitched and put in different reagents than the one he wanted to use.

The silence was eerily quiet except for the sound of their footsteps and heavy breathing. By the time they reached the end of the room, Percy didn't realize he'd been holding his breath.

He breathe out a sigh of relief. "Looks like it's a free floor." Percy said.

Everyone looked relieved. Finally they had a chance to catch their breath. "It's like the game is telling us to prepare for the final fight." Frank said.

Annabeth nodded. "Whatever we're facing next won't be easy. Prepare to bring your A-game."

"I have been bringing my A-game." Bianca moaned.

"Keep it up then." Annabeth continued. "As you see from the name of the Dungeon and the monsters that we faced, the boss is probably going to be a fire based Dungeon Boss. Prepare accordingly and get ready."

Even though no one said anything, they could feel the tension in the air. They were glancing back and forth between Percy and Annabeth, as if they were thinking to themselves like, _Annabeth is pretty good at this. Why isn't she the party leader?_

To be honest, Percy didn't mind. If Annabeth had any problems with it, she should've told Percy and he would've let her be the party leader. But maybe that's just Annabeth's slight resentment towards him about the Invoker class that creates this negative vibe between the two.

"Ready?" Percy asked his team. Most of them looked weary, but they all nodded as they climbed up the staircase.

They arrived at the rooftop of the building. Based on the unfinished concrete pillars and metal rods laying around, Percy guessed that they builders meant for this parking lot to be higher before it got scrapped.

Percy looked over to his left. The sky was starting to light up as dawn was approaching. Percy had lost track of how much time has passed since they'd entered the Dungeon. The light of the dawn sky was providing them with better light as Percy scanned their battleground.

Half finished pillars were scattered around the floor, some were tall and some were barely knee high. There were stacks of wood piled up mostly to the sides of the floor. The wall was just a cement barrier at the height of Percy's waist.

Now that he was outside, he could hear the crowd at the Ground Floor. Jason glanced over to the bottom. He whistled. "That's a crowd."

They looked over to see that people have gathered around the abandoned building. Some were watching their Dungeon raid being streamed live in front of thousands of audience. There were news vans parked outside and cameramen waiting for something to film.

"How come I didn't notice them when we were inside?" Nico asked.

"We've been too busy with the raid." Piper said. "I didn't know that it's almost sunrise."

"Time flies by when you're having fun," Leo grinned.

"This is your idea of fun?" Jason raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you supposed to be scared of fire?"

"What do you mean?"

"You did explode yourself to death in the Rookie Showcase."

"Ah, I remembered that." Hazel said. "The news were like, 'Crazy Kid Barely Does Anything With Big Spell'. Or something like that."

"Hey!" Leo exclaimed. They all cracked up.

Percy took a deep breath. "Well guys, we're fucking tired, we're on the last floor and there's a whole bunch of people watching us. Might as well give them a hell of a show."

They nodded. It seems like they bonded closer in such a short time. For a better or for worse, Percy hoped it was a good thing.

 **Line Break**

Percy could _feel_ the Dungeon Boss before he could see it.

These AR Glasses are incredible. They send signals to your brain that you can feel something cold, but the Glasses tells your brain that it is in fact, hot. So you're gonna feel that something as hot.

As they walked towards the middle of the rooftop, the air seemed to get hotter. It had been the temperature of a cool dawn a few minutes ago, but now Percy felt like he'd stepped into a microwave.

"Is it just me, or is this place getting hot?" Frank panted.

"Fire based boss, remember?" Annabeth said.

"Fighting in this heat will be difficult." Zoe muttered. "Any chance you guys have some kind of ice spell that could lower the temperature?"

"Unless you want to be frozen in place," Percy said. "Then no."

"Let's just finish this so we can get out of this stinking hellho-" Clarisse gets interrupted something hit her and sent her flying towards Percy and the other rear liners.

 _Stinking hellhole?!_ A voice seemed to echo all around them. The Dungeon Boss finally materialized in front of them.

The boss looked like something that came out of a movie. He's a ten foot tall giant and looked like he's made out of flames and molten lava. He had the body of hardened magma with little spurts of flames coming out of him every now and then. On his shoulders were fiery spikes that made him look like a flaming peacock.

His head was decorated with a black mask/crown hybrid. The mask looked metal because it was glowing from the heat. It had the shape of a skull with the horns of a bull coming out of the mask.

In his hand is a giant blade that looked suspiciously like a flaming surfboard. If they take a hit from that sword, Percy doubt it would deal damage no less than half of their health bar.

Percy read the name above his head. "Surtr." He muttered. "You need to get some vowels in your name."

 _Silence!_ Surtr roared. _You dare challenge me in my realm?_

"The parking lot?" Leo asked. "Sick realm."

Surtr roared defiantly as he moved to strike them down with his giant fiery surfboard.

Percy reacted quickly and used two Quas reagents with an Exort reagent to invoke the spell Ice Wall.

Ice Wall is a spell that, as the name suggests creates a wall of ice. It acts as a barrier and a way to block attacks or halt enemy movements.

"Get into positions!" Percy shouted. The others scrambled away to their positions. The standard positioning of the teams in a raid usually have their tanks up front, followed by the damage dealers behind them. Then to their flanks, the magic damage dealers are placed and the support group, or rear liners, are placed as far back as possible in the range of their spells.

"Clarisse!" Percy shouted. "Take that thing's aggro!"

"I'm working on it, Prissy!" Clarisse shouted through their teamspeak, a function of the AR Glasses that allows party members to communicate with each other without other people hearing it.

The wall of ice shattered as Surtr kicked it down. He swung his sword in a downwards position, in which Frank met him halfway with his shield raised.

"Holy shit!" Frank cursed. "This thing packs a punch!"

Percy watched as a chunk of Frank's health bar was depleted. "Hazel, Will, focus on healing the front lines. Focus your buffs on them. Piper, we're gonna focus on everyone else."

It looks likes Frank has aggro for now as Surtr kept his eyes on Frank. With every strike, Frank deflected successfully. His health bar depletes every time but gets countered with Will's and Hazel's heals.

"You guys, deal some damage." Percy said. Annabeth, Reyna, and Jason moved swiftly with their weapons at the ready. Nico and Bianca casted spells, causing all kinds of elements clashing in together. Lightning, fireballs, ice shards, flying boulders, and everything. It looked like a swirling mixture of anime powers and CGI effects. Leo on the other hand insists on using fire-based spells.

"Leo!" Percy shouted with a slight bit of annoyance. "Don't you have any other spells to use?"

"But these are my big damage spells!" Leo argued.

"They won't be any big damage if you keep hitting it with fire." Annabeth said as she slashed at Surtr's leg before jumping away to avoid being stepped on.

"Fine." Leo grumbled as he switched to ice and water spells, which are pretty effective towards fire elements.

Surtr roared in anger as he raised his sword up, readying for an attack. All of Percy's hair at the back of his neck stood up as his instincts took over. "Back up!" He shouted. "Avoid that attack!"

Most of them managed to get out of the way, except Frank who was way too close to Surtr.

"Frank!" Percy shouted.

Surtr swung his sword down in a cleaving motion straight at Frank. Percy glanced at Frank's health bar. If he took this hit, he won't survive it.

"Holy Barrier!" Will shouted out. A wall of white light then came in between Frannk and Surtr. Surtr's attack hit the wall of light and it shattered like glass, but it gave Frank enough time to get out of the way.

Holy Barrier is a skill specific to the Priest class. It creates a wall of light that negates an enemy attack for a specific number of damage. It's sort of a last resort for Priest classes.

"Thanks for that." Frank grunted. "You saved my ass."

"Don't be so grateful." Will said grimly. "That barrier was meant to hold at least five thousand damage before shattering."

"You're telling me this thing does five thousand damage in a single attack?" Jason asked incredulously.

"No, just that one." Percy panted. "We need to watch out for that downwards strike. That's the only one that can possibly kill us in one hit. Will, how long until you can cast that thing again?"

"Ten minutes." Will said.

"If he uses it again, we'll use Piper's Holy Barrier to hold. If it comes down to it, we just have to hope that he won't be using it again." Percy said.

"Hope," Artemis muttered. "We're in the face of a Dungeon Boss, and you're hoping."

"Yeah well, sometimes you gotta wing it." Percy said. "Keep up the damage!"

Percy brought up three reagents: two Wex and one Exort to invoke the spell Alacrity. It's a spell that gives a buff that increases damage and attack speed to its target.

Percy watched as all of his party member's status bar had the Alacrity buff on them. The damage output of their party suddenly rise tremendously.

Surtr's health bar had gone by one fifth of its full value. They still have a long way to go and Percy wasn't sure he could hold out much longer.

"We can't win like this." Jason grumbled. "He's too tanky."

 _I shall win!_ Surtr claimed.

Percy used three Quases and invoked the spell Cold Snap, at which Surtr will be frozen for half as second for every fifty damage he takes.

With all the incoming damage coming from them, it looked like Surtr was having a very bad lag.

 _I - shall - kill - you - all!_ He got one word for each time he was unfrozen before he's frozen again.

Percy watched as Surtr's health bar goes down at a rapid pace. "Switch tanks!" Percy said. Frank moved out of the way as Thalia stepped in. Surtr's aggro was still on Frank, so he was still focused on him but Thalia was ready.

"Warrior's Challenge!" Thalia shouted out as a circle of red bursts outwards at a set radius from Thalia, hitting no one but Surtr.

Surtr growled as he sets his eyes on Thalia as his new target.

Warrior's Challenge is a skill that 'taunts' the enemy. It's similar to drawing aggro. It is to make sure that the enemy is focused on the tank rather than anything else. And if the enemy decides to attack someone else, they're hit with a powerful counter attack. Most tanks has a similar skill that functions like this, categorized as Taunt Skills.

"Will, focus your healing on Thalia." Percy said. "Hazel, you help Frank recover. Nico, how long are we on your Root?"

"A few seconds." Nico grunted.

"I'm gonna need a better answer than a few seconds." Percy grumbled as he casts Sunstrike at Surtr. It took a good chunk of his health.

"Eight seconds." Nico said.

"By the time Nico casts Root, unleash hell on Surtr. We're going to get him to his Second Phase." Percy said.

"Just when I think it's about to get easier." Clarisse said with a chuckle.

"Five seconds." Nico counted down.

Percy prepared his most powerful spell: Chaos Meteor.

"Three,"

"Everyone get ready!" Percy shouted.

"Two,"

Surtr then roared. _You shall perish!_

"One." Nico casted Root. Green tendrils of energy erupted from the ground and lashed itself around Surtr's neck, arms, legs and body, disabling his movements entirely.

"Go!" Percy shouted. He casts his spell, Chaos Meteor. The big meatball appeared out of nowhere and hit Surtr right on his gut as he let out a big _Oof!_

The others went to work. All kinds of hell broke loose as they tried to deal as much damage as possible. Jason and Reyna worked as a team as they slashed and hacked at Surtr.

Annabeth was a demon. She moved faster than Percy's eyes could follow. Everywhere she went, deep gashes and cut were left all across Surtr's body. She weaved in and through of the fire demon with relative ease.

Nico summoned legions of undead to fight for them, though they did minimal damage. Leo, though unhappy, sent torrents of water mixed with ice shards at Surtr's face. Percy never knew there was such a combination between spells, but Leo pulled it off.

Bianca was keeping up remarkably. As a Magician, her spells are mainly for crowd control and work with multiple enemies. But even with a single enemy only, she made it work. Bianca casts a spell called Lucky Shot to all of their melee front liners. Then she used Hall of Mirrors on everyone, in which a small mirror appeared on everyone's shoulders.

Lucky Shot is a buff that increases the chance of getting a critical hit with each strike, perfect for damage dealers.

Hall of Mirrors is another buff. If it's cast onto an ally, the ally has a small chance of repeating the last attack they used onto an enemy. For example, if Percy used Chaos Meteor, there's a small chance that the Hall of Mirrors will repeat that attack for Percy, so there's double meteors.

It's a very good combination, with Hall of Mirror's secondary attack have the chance to also deal the critical damage from Lucky Shot.

Thalia had been relieved from Surtr' momentarily thanks to Nico's Root. Although Vanguards don't have that much offensive power, they can also deal damage. Frank and Thalia did as much as they could while also minimizing their movements so that they could recover their health bars.

Except for Clarisse, who is a Monk. She fights using her fists and feet, because Monk classes don't really use weapons. But to make up for that, Monks have spells with short cooldowns, making it spammable. Clarisse casted so many spells as a Monk that Percy was having a hard time to catch everything.

Percy watched as Surtr's health bar dropped below the halfway point, turning yellow.

The Second Phase.

He waited for something to happen, but nothing did. Surtr didn't gain any buffs and he didn't get any stronger.

The Root spell that Nico casts can last up to fifteen seconds if they're not cut down or interrupted. The spells is almost wearing down.

"Back up!" Percy said. "The Root is - agh!" Percy felt something explode behind him, which sent him forward. His eyesight and hearing went blurry after that as Percy struggled to stand up.

All Percy heard through the team speak was: "Behind us! Behind us!"

Percy stood up and tried to get his bearings. He looked over to where Surtr is and he'd broken free of his Root. He looked over towards where he, Hazel, Piper and Will were. A swarm of Fire Demons have come from the staircase behind them and were surrounding them.

They were now trapped.

Percy watched as the back lines tried to fend the Fire Demons away, but with no use. They're support classes and don't have that many offensive spells as well as not a lot of health.

"Clarisse," Percy said groggily as he still tries to get his vision straight on stop doubling. "Protect our back lines! Nico, Leo, focus on Surtr. Bianca, help clear the back lines. There's a load of them."

"Got it!" Bianca and Clarisse said simultaneously.

"Annabeth!" Percy called. "Split the damage dealers into two teams. We're getting overwhelmed in the rear. You take control of the second one."

Annabeth cursed. "Give me a moment." Annabeth said as she switched to her Enchanter class. "Jason! Zoe! You guys are with me. We're going to handle the back lines. Percy, I trust you to watch the heals for us, okay?"

"Got it." Percy said. The teams were now split. Annabeth, Clarisse, Bianca, Jason and Zoe were on one team, while Frank, Thalia, Artemis, Leo, Reyna and Nico were on one team.

Percy, Piper, Will and Hazel were in charge of supporting both of them.

"Will, you go with Annabeth. Piper, you handle the healing for Frank and Thalia. We need them as dedicated healers." Percy turned towards Hazel. "We need to watch out for both parties and help out on where is needed. Adjust your positions accordingly."

The three nodded and went to work. Percy took in the situation they were in at once.

Surtr was now free from the Root and was bombarding Thalia with attacks. If this keeps on, Thalia won't survive another minute.

Annabeth was trying her best to hold against the horde of monsters, but there were too many of them. Clarisse couldn't tank everything and she'll be overwhelmed.

Percy dubbed Annabeth's party as Party One while his party as Party Two.

"Party Two, switch tanks!" Percy said taking a good look of the situation they were in. "Hazel, head over to Party One and support their healing. Jason, Zoe, increase your output."

"We can't do any better than this!" Jason shouted.

"I'll help." He applied the Alacrity buff onto the entirety of Party One. "Keep the damage up!"

Surtr shout out defiantly. _My minions will crush you like bugs!_ He said out loud. Percy grunts as he casts Cold Snap at Surtr, causing him to move like he's having a seizure.

"Artemis, use Rapid Fire." Percy said.

"But my damage will be less," Artemis panted.

"You can stun him for an entire five seconds. Just do it." Percy said. Artemis nodded and uses Rapid Fire.

As the name suggests, Rapid Fire enables you shoot arrows without an arrow nocked on your bow. Just pull the string and the arrow will be right there waiting to be fired. It increases an Archer's fire rate but at the cost of lowering their damage.

But for Cold Snap, you don't need huge amount of damage. Fifty is enough, which is more than enough for the damage output of Artemis' Rapid Fire.

"Percy! Clarisse will be overwhelmed!" Annabeth said.

Percy cursed. He used another spell from his arsenal, two Exort reagents and one Quas reagents. He invoked the spell Summon: Forge Golem. Out of nowhere, a Golem exploded into the scene and roared. The Golem was almost as high as Surtr and was made out of hardened magma.

Summon spells varies on what it actually summoned. There are a lot of monsters and animals that could be summon and they all have a variety of functions. The Phoenix summon, for example, can heal allies for a certain amount while the Kraken summon can root enemies to the ground.

The Forge Golem summon creates a Golem at Percy's disposal that can attack and act as a tank, due to its high health bar.

"Go help them!" Percy ordered the Golem. The Golem lumbered over towards Party One and stepped on the Fire Demons.

"What in god's name is that?" Zoe asked.

"A chance for you guys to catch your breath." Percy said. "But against that crowd, it won't last very long."

True to his word, the Golem was quickly getting overwhelmed as the Fire Demons attacked and climbed onto it.

Back to Party Two's situation, Surtr health bar was going down at a snail's pace. Percy was getting tired and so were the others. By Percy's estimate, Surtr's health bar is now at thirty percent and it will take a while before it will decrease any further, now that their whole team was split into two groups.

"This isn't going very well." Thalia grunted as she stabbed Surtr in the gut.

Then, Surtr raised his sword. A familiar move that had almost depleted Frank's health bar.

"Everybody back up!" Reyna shouted and they all did. But this time, Surtr charged after them.

"Piper! Use your barrier!" Percy shouted.

The Holy Barrier popped in between them and Surtr, but Surtr struck through it as if it was nothing. The strike sent some of them flying a few metes back. Their health was extremely low and critical.

"Tree of Life!" Hazel announced. A tree sprouted at where Hazel was standing. It was brilliant green and let out shimmering a green light that imbued everyone with a Heal Over Time buff, at which their health bars will be healed at set intervals.

"Thanks for that," Percy grunted. Percy looked over to his allies to see that they were all laying on the floor, probably too tired to get up. Surtr stood over them.

 _You will now perish!_

Annabeth and Party One were too far away to help. Hazel's heal won't provide them with enough health to survive Surtr's attacks.

Chaos Meteor has a more than a minute of cooldown, so it'll be up in fifteen seconds.

Percy worked out the combo in his head. This will work, provided he had enough mana.

Surtr raised his sword, but Percy was quicker. He casts the spell Deafening Blast followed by another spell, EMP.

Deafening Blast is a concussive wave of energy that pushes the enemy backwards while inflicting the status effect of Disarm, in which the target is unable to use any attacks until the status effect wears off. The spell required the reagents of one Quas, one Wex, and one Exort.

EMP is a spell that creates a charge of electromagnetic energy that detonates within an area. The detonation drains the mana of the enemy while dealing damage equal to the mana it drains. In turn, the mana drained from said enemy restores Percy's own mana. The closer the enemy is at the center of the detonation, the more mana is drained. The spell requires three Wex reagents.

Surtr roared as he went over towards Percy. Certainly, Percy had aggro now. Surtr struck at Percy, but Percy quickly invoked the spell Mirror Image with one Quas and one Wex.

Mirror Image is a spell that creates an imperfect duplicate of the caster. By imperfect, the duplicate will be all blue. The duplicate will split and mimics whatever the caster does, but with no effect and damage. It's useful to bait out enemies into attacking the false target.

Surtr attacked the duplicate while Percy got read for his massive combo. He just hopes he doesn't mess this up.

Percy used the spell Tornado and threw it towards Surtr, at which it lifted him off the air for a few seconds. In that time, Percy casted Sunstrike and EMP again in rapid succession. Because both of the former spells require a moment to fully deal damage, Percy timed it well with the Tornado so that the damage is dealt to Surtr just as soon as he landed.

As Surtr was starting to land, Percy casted Cold Snap at Surtr along with Chaos Meteor. When his feet touched the ground, Percy threw the spell, Deafening Blast to ensure he couldn't move.

The damage from Sunstrike, EMP, Chaos Meteor, and Deafening Blast hit Surtr all at once, reducing his health to fifteen percent. The Third Phase.

But Percy wasn't going to let him do anything in the Third Phase.

Percy used the item, Refresher Shard. A very rare item that resets all the cooldown of Percy's spells in an instant so they'll be usable again. The catch is that the Refresher Shard is just a one time use item that will disappear as soon as it's used.

Percy used it and all his spells came off cooldown.

Percy summoned another Forge Golem to hold Surtr down as he casted another Sunstrike and Chaos Meteor towards Surtr. Both of the spells hit exactly at the same time, taking another chunk of Surtr's health.

 _12 percent_.

Percy threw a Deafening Blast at Surtr before casting another EMP, draining his mana and dealing damage.

 _9 percent_.

"Percy! We're being overrun!" Annabeth shouted in teamspeak, but Percy could barely hear it over the sound of his own heartbeat.

Percy casted Tornado onto Surtr again, sending him flying to the air. As he crashed down to the floor, Percy put the Alacrity buff onto the Golem so it hits harder.

 _Eight percent._

 _Six percent._

 _Five percent._

Surtr beheaded the Golem with his sword and went straight for Percy. Only eight more seconds. He needed to hold out for eight more seconds.

Percy rolled out of the way and casts Ice Wall in between him and Surtr. Surtr roared in anger as he struck the wall down, which slowed him down.

Five more seconds.

He tried striking Percy again, but again Percy casts Mirror Image onto himself to confuse Surtr. But this time, Surtr guessed right and slammed Percy across the floor.

Four more seconds.

Surtr rushed over towards Percy, his downwards cleaving attack is ready. Percy tried backing away, but there was no time.

Three seconds.

"Percy!" A voice yelled, but Percy didn't know who it was. As Surtr's sword went down on Percy, the voice shouted out. "Angelic Call!"

White wings appeared from Percy's side and shielded him from Surtr's attack and didn't shatter.

Percy wasted no time. "Sunstrike." He muttered. The spell hit Surtr straight on as his health bar dropped to zero.

Percy let out a sigh of relief as his UI display read:

* * *

 _Dungeon Complete!_

* * *

"That was tiring." Percy said.

 **A/N: And thought I'd end it there.**


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: Welp, I'm back. Whoop!**

 **Guest: Glad you enjoyed it.**

 **Alex Focker: I know, but I was rushing a bit at the end.**

 **aRTsyisAwesome: Exactly my plan. Thanks!**

 **The Assassin: Not gonna happen but I'll try to.**

 **Chapter 7**

The crew sat down on the rooftop after a tiring night against Surtr and the whole Muspelheim Dungeon. The sunrise turned the sky into bright blue.

Jason, Leo and Frank were fast asleep after the battle. Nico and Piper were talking with their three new recruits who performed remarkably well in Percy's book.

Hazel and Thalia were talking about something in a hushed tone along with Zoe. Which left Percy, Reyna, Artemis and Annabeth sitting around in a circle.

All of them looked super tired but very satisfied. The crowd at the outside of the building were still there, cheering for them. How did their raid made it to the public, Percy had no idea.

Aside from the fact that they got sweet loot with brand new items to improve their gear, most of them were elated with the fact that they had obtained a new class.

Archangel. The same class that Ariadne had. The class has the highest healing capability out of all the class in existence in Olympia right now. Unlike most support classes, the Archangel class is also capable of dealing decent amount of damage and they have the one spell that is exclusive to them: Resurrection.

That's the only spell that can "revive" a teammate after their health bar has been depleted.

"About time I got one." Reyna grinned. "It's not really my type of class, but I can brag about it."

"Even more so," Annabeth said as she tapped around her UI display from her Glasses. "No one has completed a raid so far. All attempts at it has been a failure, except for ours."

"That explains the crowd." Artemis muttered. "But man, I can't imagine what they were facing in the other Dungeons."

"This was hard enough." Annabeth agreed. "If all the Dungeons are individually different and it changes with every reset, then preparation and early tactics will be useless."

Reyna nodded. "You can't prepare for something you can't see coming." Reyna said. "But somehow, we pulled through thanks to Percy."

Percy had been so distracted that he didn't even notice that they were all looking at him until Artemis pinched his forearm. "Ow."

"What were you staring at?" Artemis asked.

"Oh," Percy was legitimately surprised. "The sky."

Artemis looked over towards the sky and back at Percy. She then smiled. "Dork."

Percy smiled back but without much enthusiasm.

As like what happened when they were fighting the World Boss, Styx, Percy received a note. Since no one else mentioned about it, he assumed that he's the only one that got it.

 _Trials of Olympia_

 _Stage 2 Completed_

What kind of event was this? Was this a bug? Was this a secret event? Percy had tried looked into the forums or any Olympia announcement for such event but nothing came close.

If anyone else was having this even happening at them, they definitely kept it a secret. So Percy wasn't going to say this to anyone as well.

"So, where you guys heading off to next?" Reyna asked.

"I'm gonna get some rest." Percy groaned. "We've been up since last night and I don't feel like leaving my bed anytime soon."

"Yeah." Artemis yawned. "My head hurts as well."

"Lucky you guys can sleep." Annabeth grumbled. "I need to get back to Minerva HQ."

Percy stood up and stretched. He looked over to where towards the rest of his friends were. "We're crashing at Hestia's. Anyone wanna tag along?"

Thalia, Jason, and Nico raised their hand.

"Nu uh," Reyna said. "Jason, you still owe me three sessions worth of practice."

"Aw man." Jason whined. "I haven't slept since last night."

"Well, too bad." Reyna said sternly. "You're coming with me."

Thalia laughed at him while Jason grumbled under his breath. Frank stood up. "Leo, Hazel and I are gonna head back as well. We had fun today."

"Yeah, and it was worth as well." Leo grinned. "We should do this again sometime."

"Of course." Percy bumped fists with Leo. "If I plan on going to another Dungeon raid, I'll give you guys a call."

The Flamers said their goodbyes before leaving. "I guess I'm taking my leave as well." Reyna said. "Come on, Jason."

"Yeah, yeah." Jason grumbled. "See you guys later. If you find any more difficult bosses, give me a call, alright?"

"We'll see." Percy smirked mischievously. Jason glared at him as he left the place.

"I better get going as well." Piper said. "I need to evaluate these guys' performance." Piper gestured at Will, Bianca and Clarisse.

"I'd say they did well." Artemis smiled. "If you ever change your mind, the Hunt has some openings."

"Thanks," Bianca smiled shyly.

"Are you trying to steal my recruits?" Piper raised an eyebrow.

"Not steal. More like . . . suggesting." Artemis smiled at Piper.

Piper grinned. "See you guys later." She said as she left with the Rebellion's new recruits. Though considering what he'd seen, he would call them professionals rather that recruits.

That left Percy, Artemis, Nico, and Thalia. "So, Hestia's?" Percy asked. They all nodded as they made their way down to the parking lot.

 **Line Break**

As soon as they reached Hestia's place, they crashed and fell asleep instantly. Percy went over to the kitchen to get a drink. When he entered, Hestia was there making breakfast.

"Morning, Perseus." Hestia smiled at him.

"Hey," Percy said as he yawned.

"You look horrible." Hestia pointed out.

"Thanks for the morning pep talk." Percy groaned as he laid his head on the kitchen counter. "I've been up all night and I'm tired."

Hestia chuckled. "It's hard to believe that you used to hate that game. And now you would sacrifice your sleep just to play it."

"I can hardly believe it myself." Percy chuckled. "Anyway, how was your day?"

"Well, since my day has only started I could only hope it would go well." Hestia smiled. She then handed Percy a glass of drink. "Juice?"

"Good point." Percy said as he took the glass and took a gulp. "Thanks Hestia. You always seem to know what I want."

"Well, I did raise you since you were just a little boy." Hestia said. "Now go to shower and get some sleep."

"Can I do it the other way around? I'm really sleepy." Percy pouted.

Hestia laughed as she continued to make breakfast for the other kids. Percy decided to go and crash in his old room. Before he could, he received a notification for a message in his Glasses.

Percy opened the message and was pretty creeped out by it.

* * *

 _From: null_

 _To: Percy_

 _Congratulations on making it to the third stage. You make for one interesting contestant._

* * *

"What the hell . . ." Percy wanted to reply to the message, but it was from an unknown person.

But it confirmed one thing, this event wasn't for Percy alone.

With that disturbing thought in mind, he fell asleep.

 **Line Break**

Percy woke up to a sprawl of auburn hair and something on his chest. Artemis was sleeping soundly next to Percy.

He smiled as he gently brushed her hair. Artemis stirred in her sleep but she didn't wake up.

Percy put on his Glasses, but when the UI display showed up, it was distorted. The message warning "Alert!" appeared in big red letters in his display multiple times. Then, his the contacts of his Glasses cracked and it ruined completely.

"Ah!" Percy yelped in surprise which woke Artemis up.

"Percy?" Artemis called drowsily. "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing." Percy managed a smile. "Sorry for waking you up."

Artemis rubbed her eyes and yawned. "What time is it?"

"It's around noon." Percy said.

Artemis groaned and moaned as she stretched next to Percy like a cat. "I have to be with the Hunt in a few minutes." She said.

"Well you should get ready then." Percy poked her cheek.

Artemis pouted. "Can't I stay a bit longer?"

"If you do then you'll never catch up to the Roman Legion." Percy taunted.

Artemis grumbled as she got up. Then, she noticed Percy's AR Glasses. "What happened to your Glasses?"

"I don't know." Percy admitted. "I tried them on a minute ago and it gave an alert warning before the Glasses cracked."

"Huh," Artemis said. "Never heard anything like that happening before."

"Yeah." Percy said, trying not to give it much thought. "I'm gonna have it fixed."

"I'd say get a new one." Artemis suggested. "They should be for sale at the Market."

"I'll go and take a look." Percy smiled as Artemis pecked him on the lips.

"Gotta go." Artemis gave him a sly smile.

"Stay safe." Percy kissed her forehead before she left. Percy studied his broken AR Glasses before putting them away. He knew one place he would be able to get one easily without attracting many attention.

Percy went downstairs to see that Thalia has already woken up and was lounging and watching something from her Glasses.

"Hey," Percy greeted.

"Morning." Thalia grinned.

"So, I need a favour." Percy said.

"What is it?" Thalia asked. Percy showed her his broken Glasses. "What happened?"

"I dunno. I put them on this morning, I got an alert flashing on the screen and it suddenly cracked. I tried putting them on again but it won't turn on." Percy explained. "Can you help me get a new one?"

"Well, the game makers were keen on making sure that Olympia is well protected, so we get access to new gears all the time, courtesy of Mr. Don." Thalia said. "Maybe I can get you one, but I can't promise you anything."

"Why not?"

"Because this douche is in charge." Thalia gestured at Nico, who was snoring soundly on the couch. "Unless you get an approval from him, you're not getting any gear."

"I'm sure he'll help." Percy said confidently.

 **Line Break**

By the time Percy arrived at the Plaza, the biggest Olympia market around, the sun was right above him and was unbearably hot. Nico claimed that new gear would impossible to get right about now because they had only supplied enough for the members of the Rebellion.

So much for free gear.

So now, Percy was forced to go shopping alone.

Even at a hot day like this, the Plaza was packed with people. Restaurants and cafe were full with even a waiting line slithering along the walls. Most of the stalls and shops here had customers and none of them were on a downtime.

With his name and face often being mentioned in mainstream media, Percy tried not to stand out. He wore contact-less glasses and that was about it. He didn't really put much thought into the disguise.

Percy weaved through the crowd as he surveyed the shops. Most of them were selling in-game items, which is items you would only get in the game.

After what seemed like hours of circling the Plaza, Percy sighed in exhaustion. He decided to take a break. He found what seems to be a retro style cafe. From the outside it was decorated with wooden brown wall with a red canvas roof hovering over the entrance. The signboard above it spelled "Cafe LaCent" and it didn't seem too busy. So Percy decided to enter.

The aroma of coffee immediately entered his nose as he opened the door. It wasn't really a big cafe. Four seat booths of four people were lined up along the wall with a line of stools placed in front of the island counter. Behind it were shelves that were filled with various types of coffee powder and ingredients.

The lights from the ceiling gave out a orange-brownish light, making it a very chilled atmosphere, perfect for a place to relax and enjoy a cup of coffee.

Only one of the booth was occupied with one person and she was busy with her AR Glasses.

Percy took a seat near the counter as someone, who Percy presumed to be the owner, stood in front of him at the opposite side.

"Hello young man," The owner said. Percy looked up to see a familiar face. "Fancy seeing you again."

"Oh hey," Percy said. "I remember you. You're . . . uh . . . We were on a raid together."

"It was against the Hydra, yes." The owner said with a smile. "I'm Chiron, if you were wondering."

"Ah yes," Percy said. "And I'm Percy Jackson."

"Pleasure meeting you again." Chiron said with a warm smile. "Now, what can I get you?"

"Well, something to help me clear my head." Percy said. "If you have anything like that."

Chiron nodded. "Coming right up." He said as he went to work.

"You know, I never expected someone like you to be working at a cafe." Percy said.

Chiron managed a small laugh. "Well, what did you expect I did?"

"I dunno. Maybe a businessman?"

"I'm afraid the cooperate life is not for me." Chiron said as he brewed Percy's coffee. "Too much rushing and too busy. Little time for coffee."

"Is coffee really that important?"

"Depends on the person." Chiron smiled. He then served Percy his coffee. "Here you go."

The rich brown colour of the coffee seemed enticing as the faintly sweet aroma went through his nose. Percy gently picked up the cup and took a light sip. Instantly, almost magically, he felt better. It was as if his vision had just been upgraded into high-definition.

"Wow," Percy said after taking another sip before putting it down. "That's really good."

"Thank you." Chiron said. "Hearing a customer's feedback is always great for me."

"If you keep making coffee like this I might just be a regular." Percy smirked as he took another sip.

"Be my guest." Chiron winked.

"Oh, do you know where I can get a new pair of AR Glasses?" Percy asked. "Mine's broken."

"From what I've heard they're sold out and a new batch won't come until next month." Chiron said. "But if you'd like, I could give you a pair."

"You mean yours?" Percy asked. "I'm not so sure about that."

Chiron chuckled. "Of course not mine. I found an old pair of Glasses a few years back when I was cleaning the attic. It seems the previous owner left it there. Although it is a bit outdated."

Percy had never tried outdated Glasses before but he figured that it wasn't going to be that harmless. "It's better than nothing." Percy shrugged. "Thanks for the help."

"Oh, I do ask something in return though." Chiron said.

"And what might that be?"

"That you will come here again for your next cup of coffee." Chiron smiled.

"You've got yourself a deal."

 **Line Break**

It turns out old AR Glasses and new AR Glasses didn't really have much of a difference aside from certain features. The one that Chiron gave him was almost identical to the one he had so Percy had no complaints.

As Percy logged in with his new AR Glasses, the UI popped up into his vision. To his relief, all his files about the Cut Content were there thanks to it being in the Olympia database and can only be accessed through a retinal scan.

Percy was about to leave the Plaza when a sudden loud _DING_ filled the air. At first he thought it was just him, but everybody appears to have heard it as well as they all looked around in confusion.

"Did you hear that?"

"Was that a fire alarm?"

"What was that?"

Then, an announcement filled the air.

 _Attention players! We are now commencing the first Battle Royale event of Olympia. The last person standing will win the Beast class._

As soon as it was announced, a ring of blue light surrounded the entire Plaza, almost as if they were trapping everyone in it.

 _If your health bar reaches zero, you are eliminated and are required to exit the area of battle. If you leave the area, you are considered eliminated. Battle will commence in three . . ._

"Wait, are they serious?"

 _Two . . ._

"Is this legit?"

 _One . . ._

"Hold up!"

 _Start!_

At first, no one did anything. No one, including Percy, knew what was going on. Everyone stood there in shock and confusion.

At least that's how it was for five seconds before anarchy ensued.

Battle erupted out of nowhere, causing chaos all over the Plaza. Through Percy's AR Glasses, everyone was already in full battle regalia. Those who wanted no part in the event exited the area of battle, which was the Plaza, immediately. Given, that's only a few of them. A majority of people stayed inside.

At the center of the Plaza, there was a holographic display.

* * *

 _Players left : 86_

* * *

The number keeps decreasing by the second, meaning people were getting eliminated left right and center. Spells were casted and the sound of metal clanging against metal filled the air.

According to the rules, it's basically a one versus all situation where Percy has to face the other players and be the last one standing.

Did Olympia always make surprise events like this? If they did, it's not really funny.

"This is gonna be a pain." Percy grunted to himself as he went to work.

 **A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know. It's been a while. I've been busy and also I have stumbled on a writer's block. I don't plan this shit early on. I get ideas as I write stuff, which is really not the best idea on going about it. Sorry bout that. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: Glad I could get back into writing. Onwards!**

 **Chapter 8**

The Battle Royale raged on for probably an hour. Percy didn't really have time to look at a clock as he was busy trying to be the last person standing. Because of the sudden commencement of the event, Percy had only managed to use his Duelist class which is probably for the best since he didn't want people to know who he was and what class he was using.

Percy ducked under the swing of a hammer from another Duelist before he slashed at him. Because it's Augmented Reality, there wasn't actually a real sword slashing them. The Glasses created the impression that it happened and drained their health points.

It seems that even one strike would deplete your health bar to zero, so Percy had to be careful.

He rolled out of the way as a flaming arrow whizzed through where he had been standing before blocking another strike from someone else. Percy kicked the person attacking him before legging it to get some distance away.

* * *

 _Players left : 44_

* * *

He can't really be certain, but it looks as if some people were already making quick alliances to ensure their survivability in this event.

Fair enough, but that doesn't seem like a good move. If they remain the last people standing, then backstabbing will surely happen.

Percy conjured up a halberd, a weapon that looked like the child of an axe and a spear, and swung it in a wild arc, catching a few players while creating some sort of distance between him and the crowd,

Some of the eliminated players didn't look too happy about being eliminated as they glared at Percy, but Percy didn't pay them any attention.

He thrusts his halberd forward, catching one unfortunate player off guard before he made another wide arc with the weapon, catching some more people off guard.

Mid swing, his halberd caught a shield. The impact of the clash was enough to shake the weapon out of Percy's hands. Percy gritted his teeth as his hands felt like they're vibrating through the bones.

Percy looked over to where someone stopped his halberd to see that same person was charging at him with ramming speed, shield at the ready.

Percy stepped to the side as the person in question charged passed him like a mad bull. As the person went pass him, he caught a glimpse of light blue hair that was similar to the colour of the bright sky.

He decided not to dwell on that any further as he fought through the ranks of players. His arms were getting heavy and tired from the constant moving and the overdrive of adrenaline coursing through his body.

For what seemed like forever, he fought through everything and everyone. Until there were five people left.

Two people were standing side by side at one edge of the Plaza. One of them had the similar sky blue hair that Percy had seen before while the other one had flaming red hair. If Percy had to guess, they had to be siblings.

The other two were standing on their own at different spots, just like Percy. From the looks of it, the two people with wild hair were a team while the rest of them were individual players.

The five of them were in a standoff as they all assessed the situation.

"Well, it seems it's just us." One of them said. Looking from her equipment, she looked to be a Sorceress. "What do we do now?"

"Seems like we're in a tight spot." The other individual player said. Judging from the large pieces of metal tied to both of his hands, Percy assumed that he was a Shieldbearer. It's somewhat surprising that a defensive class would survive this long in a chaotic battle. "They're gonna team up against us." The Shieldbearer gestured at the pair.

"Forgive us, but we don't plan on losing this event." The blue-haired one said. From the looks of it, he looked like a Vanguard. "My twin sister has made sure that we do not fail."

The red-haired one nodded silently. "Victory will be ours." She said in a timid voice.

"Getting cocky, aren't you?" The Shieldbearer said with a smirk. "I hope you can back it up."

"Why do you come and try?" The blue-haired twin said as he tauntingly beckoned for them to approach him.

The Shieldbearer chuckled. "What about you, Duelist? Wanna join? The three of us can take them down." He asked Percy.

While Percy knew they would have the number if they teamed up, he wasn't sure about the probability of them winning. The twins give out a different aura than the average players of Olympia. When Percy looks at them, he feels like he's watching a laid out trap. It's evident that it's a trap, but Percy also know that one wrong move will trigger it.

"I think I'm just gonna watch the four of you battle it out while I sit back." Percy said with a grin.

"If you do that, then it's going to be a two-against-two-against-one match," the Sorceress supplied. "And that's not in your favour."

"I'll take my chances." Percy said.

"Very well." the Shieldbearer said. "No hard feelings, right?"

"Depends on how hard you hit me." Percy said.

"Oi!" The blue-haired twin called them out. "What are you guys whispering about over there? We fighting or not?"

As soon as he said that, the Shieldbearer went to action as he rushed towards the twins. The Sorceress began casting her spell. "Thunderbolt!"

The sunny sky rumbled before a lightning bolt struck where the twins were standing. As the dust clear, Percy half expected for their health bar to be depleted, but he knew these weren't normal Olympia players.

The blue-haired twin had his shield raised over him and his sister, blocking them from the Thunderbolt. The Shieldbearer seems to expect it as he was already there, ready to deliver a killing blow.

That proved useless as the red-haired twin casts her own spell and sent the Shieldbearer flying away.

Percy decided to use this to his advantage as he rushed towards the Shieldbearer, hoping to eliminate him as he was downed but the Sorceress wouldn't allow it as she conjured a wall of ice between Percy and the Shieldbearer. "Ice Wall!" The Sorceress shouted.

"You have a bad habit of calling out your spells, lady!" The blue-haired twin said. "Allow me to return the favour. Frisbee Toss!" He then threw his shield at Percy, Captain America style.

Percy conjured a wooden club and hit the incoming flying shield. Instead of flying or being deflected, the shield sank halfway into the wooden club.

How hard did he throw this thing?

The Shieldbearer was now on his feet and changed his target towards Percy. Although the Shieldbearer was built like an Olympic weightlifter, he was still fast on his movements. He threw punches at Percy, similar to boxing. If you factor in the shields strapped onto his arms, his punches will be devastating.

Percy stepped back with each punch, but the gust of air coming from his punches was all he needed to know that his punches were not to be messed with.

With their close combat in motion, the red-haired twin, who Percy assumed was a Magician, took advantage of it and decide to send a wave of fire towards them.

The other Sorceress countered by casting another spell. "Tornado!" As the name suggests, it was a medium-scale tornado that sweeps the fires away as the tornado made its way towards the twins.

"Can you not announce the name of your spells?" The Shieldbearer grunted as he blocked a strike from Percy's sword. He pushed Percy away as he blocked an arc of lightning from the red-haired twin with his shield.

"I think it's cool." Percy grinned. "Cross Slash!" Percy announced as he slashed in a cross with two of his swords.

"Oh, not you too." The Shieldbearer groaned as he blocked Percy's strike.

"Kinda cool, isn't it?" The Sorceress agreed.

"Then I'm gonna start doing it too." The blue-haired twin said. "Divine Spear!" He threw a spear that glowed in yellowish light straight towards Percy and the Shieldbearer.

Percy and the Shieldbearer broke off their duel as the spear went pass them and landed on the ground, right next to the Sorceress.

"Whaddaya think about that, Mia?" The blue-haired twin asked.

"It was cringy." The red-haired twin, Mia, said. "Besides, you missed, Eli."

The blue-haired twin, Eli, chuckled. "That was just a warning shot."

The Sorceress wasted no time in making a counter-attack, casting another spell. "Blizzard!"

Huge icicles suddenly came raining down at where everyone was, including the Shieldbearer.

"Hey, I thought we're on the same side?" The Shieldbearer asked as he blocked one of the icicles. It shattered on impact as it collided with his shield.

"Change of plans. It's gonna be a last resort attack for me." The Sorceress grinned.

"Go big or go home, right?" Eli said. He then rushed forward with his spear in hand and shield in the other. He charged towards Peercy with an expression of enjoyment.

Percy couldn't help but smile in excitement himself. He rushed forward as well, playing "Chicken" with Eli with his own spear at the ready.

"Thunderstorm!" The Sorceress announced. The sky rumbled as lightning struck around them at random spots. One struck just near Percy and another one struck near the Sorceress herself.

"She's nuts." The Shieldbearer said as he charged towards Mia. "You're going down now, Missy!"

"It's useless." Mia muttered. She casts a Root spell onto the Shieldbearer, at which earthen tendrils lashed out of the ground and tied him down on the spot.

Mia then casts another spell, Arc Lightning. A stream of lightning snaked its way towards the Sorceress. She tried countering it by erupting another wall of ice to block the lightning, but the lightning diverted its direction just before hitting the wall, hitting something next to the Sorceress.

It was the spear that Eli had thrown earlier. The lightning was attracted to it.

The lightning hit the spear like a lightning rod and exploded, knocking the Sorceress out of play.

While the Shieldbearer was still rooted, Percy and Eli clashed into each other. Eli's spear barely missed Percy while Percy's spear hit Eli's shield, so they ran into each other.

"Ack!" Both men grunted as they collapsed to the ground.

Out of the corner of his eye, Percy could see Mia casting another spell so he tried getting up quickly but Eli pulled his leg, causing him to trip again.

"Where do you think you're going?" Eli asked with a grin.

"Your sister is casting something and I'm not gonna be around for the end result."

Eli laughed. "Didn't you hear what she said?" Eli asked. "It's useless."

"What?" Percy asked. He could feel the ozone in the air changing as he rolled out of the way just as a lightning bolt struck where he had been a few moments ago. At first, he thought he's safe, but his instinct screamed for him to jump and he did just as soon as Eli slid under him, going for a tackle.

He caught a glimpse of Eli's smirk. "Heads up." Eli said. Suddenly, Percy felt something bonked against his head very hard as his health bar drained to zero. He fell back onto the ground with a thump.

Percy's vision was fuzzy, but he could barely make out the unmistakable shape of Eli's shield right next to him. That was the thing that hit him.

But if Percy's memory served him correctly, which he hoped was the case after that nasty bash on the head, Eli still had his shield with him.

So how did . . .

Oh.

The shield that was stuck on his wooden club. Percy thought it disappeared like his weapons do when he dropped it, but apparently that's not the case.

Did Mia control the other shield?

As he sat up, he could make up Eli dealing the finishing blow to the Shieldbearer, leaving only the twins in the Battle Royale.

They really weren't like other Olympia players.

 **Line Break**

Percy didn't realize how many people were watching the event until it was over. A crowd had been surrounding the Plaza.

As tired as Percy was, he was somewhat satisfied with the event. Even though he didn't win, it was certainly a great experience.

The Shieldbearer and Sorceress made their way towards Percy after the battle. Percy smiled when he saw them.

"Those twins really are something." the Shieldbearer chuckled. "Good fight by the way." He offered his hand to Percy.

Percy shook it with a smile. "Same. You're really good." He turned towards the Sorceress. "You also."

"Apparently not good enough." She didn't sound too happy about losing. "But it really was a good match."

"I hope we'll meet again someday." Percy said to both of them.

"As friends? Or enemies?" The Shieldbearer asked with a smirk.

"Depends on the situation." Percy said with a smile. He shook their hands one last time before bidding them farewell.

Then he went to where the twins were. They were in the midst of being interviewed and bombarded by questions by the people who were watching the event.

In regards, Percy decided to save them.

"Oh look! It's Percy Jackson the infamous rookie!" He shouted out really loud. He almost doubted that it would work, but these media people would kill for the latest story.

As soon as he said that, the mob immediately surged over to somewhere else, leaving the twins alone.

Percy made his way towards them with a grin. "Come with me, will you?"

"What? You're planning on doing something?" Eli asked with a slight edge to his voice.

Percy let out a small laugh. "I just wanted to have a talk with you. And this place is not really the best place to talk." Percy said as he gestured at the mob who are starting to realize they've been tricked.

Eli and Mia exchanged looks before nodding. Percy gestured for them to come with him.

"We'll talk at my place. Trust me when I say you'll never get a better meal than there."

 **Line Break**

As Percy entered the Orphanage with Mia and Eli, he was caught off guard when he saw Annabeth doing sit-ups in the living room. Her blonde hair was tied in a bun and she was drenched in sweat.

"What the hell? What are you doing here?" Percy asked incredulously.

Annabeth looked up from her work out. "Oh hey." She said nonchalantly. "'Sup?"

"Why are you here?" Percy asked.

"There's nothing wrong with me being here, is there?" Annabeth grinned. "Besides, I need some private time away from the team. There's been none stop pestering by the media and it's giving me a headache."

Percy sighed. "Well, get dressed. We have some guest."

Annabeth's eyes widened as she quickly ran upstairs. Percy rolled his eyes as he invited the twins to come inside. "Come in."

Mia and Eli looked around in awe. "Big place." Eli said. Percy smiled at them. They look very young. If he had to guess, they're probably around twelve years old.

"Smells like sweat in here." Mia said in a small voice.

"Ah, sorry bout that. A friend of mine was working out." Percy said.

"And who might these be?" A voice asked. Percy turned around to see Hestia smiling at them.

"Just in time." Percy smiled. "They're friends of mine. Twins, Mia and Eli."

"Hey." Eli said with a huge grin while Mia waved shyly.

"Adorable little kids, aren't you?" Hestia gave them a warm smile. "Are you guys hungry? Dinner's almost ready."

"Doubtful." Mia almost whispered.

"Of what?" Eli asked.

"Her cooking." Mia said.

In Percy's opinion, Mia's too honest for her own good.

"Oh, is that a challenge?" Hestia raised an eyebrow. "Then I shall do my best to make sure you enjoy my food."

"Still doubtful." Mia said in an almost whisper.

Hestia didn't seem offended as she winked before going back to the kitchen. "Make sure you treat them well before dinner, Percy." Hestia said before heading back.

"Will do." Percy said.

"Wait, Percy? As in Percy Jackson?" Eli asked.

"That's me." Percy said.

"I'm your biggest fan." Eli said excitedly. "I've seen the way you fight the Hydra. I aspire to be like you one day."

This was the first time he'd ever had an interaction with a fan so Percy had no idea how to react. "Thanks."

"Can you train me?" Eli asked hopefully.

"Whoa kid, let's calm down for a bit." Percy said. "I'm really not that good." Eli kept looking at Percy with puppy eyes, which is somehow working with that bright blue hair of his. "Well, I'll consider it."

Eli fist-pumped the air. "Heck yeah!" He said loudly. "You see, Mia? I'm gonna get stronger."

"Not impressed." Mia simply said as she studies Percy.

"My sister doesn't think you're that good." Eli said with a shrug. "But hey, different people have different opinions. She thinks she's better than most Olympia players out there."

"Well, after what I've seen today, that might not be far from the truth." Percy said, remembering the insanely calculated strategy that the twins used.

"She thinks that only one person is better than her in the game." Eli said.

"Who might that be?" Percy asked. On cue, Mia gasped in astonishment. She was looking at the stairs, where Annabeth was coming down after a shower. Her hair was still wet and a towel was slung over her neck. "Well, that makes sense." Percy said after seeing their reaction.

"Oh, who're these people?" Annabeth asked.

"Annabeth, let me introduce you. This is Eli and Mia." Percy gestured at them respectively. "They're twins."

Annabeth smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Lady." Eli said cheerfully.

"Um, uh, erm," Mia was flustered as she held her hand out, to Annabeth's surprise. She gently shook it.

"Hey there." Annabeth said. "I'm guessing you know who I am."

"My sister is a big fan of yours." Eli grinned.

"Um, nice to meet you." Mia said nervously.

"Nice to meet you as well." Annabeth said with a smile. "So, what's this about?"

"Let's talk about it during dinner." Percy said. "You are staying for dinner, right?"

"Of course." Annabeth said.

 **Line Break**

"So tell me," Percy said as he slurped down his spaghetti. "How are you so good on Olympia?"

"Ooh, you're looking for new recruits?" Annabeth asked.

"It would be an understatement calling them recruits." Percy admitted. "If you saw our fight back at the Plaza, you'd understand why I brought them here."

"You had a fight?" Annabeth asked as she took a sip of her orange juice.

"Well, not really a fight. It was a surprise event." Percy said. "I was looking for new Glasses at the Plaza when suddenly Olympia announced that a Battle Royale event was going to be taking place there. Last person standing would be receiving one of the hidden classes."

"And you didn't think to call me?" Annabeth asked angrily.

"You're mistaken. I would've if I could, but the event started so suddenly that it was like I was suddenly thrown into a tank full of shark." Percy said. "Ask them if you don't believe me."

Eli replied with: "This tastes so good!" He said as he inhaled a mouthful of spaghetti.

"See?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "So, what happened? Did you win?"

"Almost." Percy said. "I fought against them and . . . let's just say they're really good."

"How good?" Annabeth asked.

"I can't explain it. I have to show it to you." Percy said. "I'll try to find some footage of the fight later on when-"

"I have it." Mia suddenly said. "I can send it to you."

"Really?" Percy asked.

"Mia records every fight we've been in." Eli said. "Then she studies them."

"That's a hardworking person if I've heard of one." Percy whistled. "You can send it later to me."

Mia nodded. "I can send one to Annabeth too if she wants." When she talks about Annabeth, she looks all flustered again.

Annabeth smiled. "I would very much like that." She replied. "Might I ask, where do you guys live?"

There was a moment of silence after Annabeth asked her question as the twins exchanged looks with each other.

"Nowhere." Eli answered simply.

"What about your parents?" Annabeth asked with a gentle voice.

Again, they're met with another moment of silence before getting an answer. "Dunno. Never met them." Eli said. Percy could tell this was a hard subject for them. Eli was trying to stay strong for his sister while Mia looked like she's barely holding it together.

"Sorry for asking." Annabeth said apologetically. "I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay." Eli said with a smile, although not as bright as his usual smile. "Mia and I have been together for as long as I could remember. It doesn't matter what happens as long as we're together."

Mia nodded in silent agreement. Percy knew what it was like to be abandoned as a child so he could understand them. It wasn't fair to these kids to experience something like that.

"Hey, you wanna stay here?" Percy asked.

Again, the twins exchanged looks. Every time they did that, it looked like they were having some sort of telepathic exchange.

"Thank you for the offer, but we don't want to be a bother to anyone." Eli said with a slight bit of hesitation.

"Oh, you won't be." Percy said. "Hestia likes kids. Plus there are a few other kids here as well, so you won't be lonely."

Annabeth was quick on the idea. "Yeah. And you get to eat Hestia's home-cooked meal every day. I'm actually kind of jealous."

"And of course, I can't train you if I don't know where you are." Percy said. "It'll be easier to find you if I know you're here."

Both of them looked like they were seriously debating it in their heads. "Well . . . if it's fine with everyone then . . ."

"Of course it's fine." Hestia said as she entered the room. "Any friend of Percy is welcomed here."

"I'm here mainly for the food." Annabeth said as she took another forkful of spaghetti.

Percy rolled her eyes. "Well, what do you say?"

Again, they exchanged looks before Mia nodded. Eli then smiled excitedly. "We'll take the offer." He said happily.

 **Line Break**

After dinner, Percy bid his farewells to Hestia and the twins before heading home with Annabeth following him.

"You're going home, right?" Annabeth asked. "I'll walk with you."

"You know, it's not that far away."

Annabeth just shrugged as she followed Percy. They walked in silence for a few blocks before Annabeth started a conversation. "I looked at the footage that Mia sent me."

"What do you think of it?"

"If I have to put it into words, I'd say she's a prodigy." Annabeth admitted. "Even I wouldn't have thought it that far. I wouldn't call her a genius, but she has potential."

"Maybe she even rivals you." Percy suggested.

"Maybe," Annabeth admitted. "With enough training."

"I thought you hated it when someone is your rival?"

"I hate it when someone claims to be my rival but then doesn't live up to the promise." Annabeth said. "But with Mia, I could see that she could be as good as me or maybe even better."

"Well, only time will tell." Percy said. "Gotta say, her brother seems really good as well."

"I guess we have our own kids to look after, huh? Kinda like parents." As soon as Annabeth said that, Percy could feel both of them tense up.

"Oh, is that how you see it?" Percy wiggled his eyebrows. He loved teasing Annabeth.

Annabeth's face flushed with red. "Sorry. It just kinda slipped out. It's just how I see it."

"Ah, so you see us taking care of these kids together?" Percy smiled mischievously. They were now walking up to the door to Percy's apartment building.

"Stop it, Percy." Annabeth said, not meeting his eyes.

"You know, that's the kind of thing that people who're in love always say." Percy grinned.

"Stop . . ." Annabeth said, her voice quivering.

"Okay." Percy held his hands up. "It's just so fun to tease you. Your face gets all red and you bite your bottom lip while your eyes just-"

Percy never got to finish his sentence as Annabeth pulled Percy in and kissed him. It lasted for a few seconds before Percy realized what was happening.

He was with Artemis. Why was he letting this happening?

It took all of his willpower to pull himself out of the kiss. "Annabeth," he whispered. "I don't think is a good idea-" He gets interrupted again as Annabeth pulled him again for a more deeper and passionate kiss.

Annabeth wrapped her hands around his neck as Percy wrapped his around her waist. Internally, Percy was struggling. On the rational side, he knew this was wrong and he knew he had to stop it.

But on the emotional side, everything was pouring out. He was having feelings that he didn't know he had. Especially feelings for Annabeth.

Again, it took all of his willpower to pry himself away from Annabeth. "Annabeth, listen-"

Annabeth silenced him with another deep kiss. "Not a word until morning." Annabeth whispered into their kiss.

Percy's mind went into a blur as he suddenly found himself with Annabeth in his apartment. They have been in a heated make-out session for a few minutes as Percy found himself being undressed by Annabeth.

Percy found himself unconsciously doing the same thing to Annabeth as they made their way to the bedroom.

Then one thing led to another . . .

 **A/N: HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAH**


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: I'm aiming to go up on the spicy meter for this one. Because it causes for some good reading.**

 **Oh, slight notice, it's gonna be a whole lot of drama going on in this chapter.**

 **CharneX: Feels great to be back.**

 **CptK3nt: He he he he.**

 **Shin Jam: Spicy drama.**

 **Onwards!**

 **Chapter 9**

Percy has almost wished he didn't wake up the very next morning. Last night seemed like a blur as he could barely remember most of it. There was a lot of moaning, screaming, furniture being moved, banging on the wall, and some other stuff.

His apartment looked like it had been ransacked by burglars.

He woke up feeling conflicted. Was he feeling happy? Was he feeling guilty? Was it both?

As he sat up, he noticed that Annabeth was already awake and was sitting at the edge of the bed. Her bare skin seemed to glisten under the sun as her messy blonde hair flowed down her back.

"You're awake," Percy said, as if it wasn't obvious enough.

Annabeth nodded silently. Percy's head was still trying to recall bits and pieces of last night. It was like he was trying to understand whether it really did happen.

Both of them sat in silence on the bed for a good half an hour before anyone did anything.

"Can I get you anything?" Percy asked.

He felt like jumping off a building. But in his defense, what do you say in this situation? _Sorry for sleeping with you even though I'm in a relationship with someone else, let's be friends again_.

Percy figured that's not really how things work.

"No," Annabeth replied absently. Percy was about to get up when she asked her question. "What was this?"

"What do you mean?" Percy asked.

"What was this to you? What did last night mean?"

To be honest, Percy didn't really know. If he said this was something serious, then he's basically cheating on Artemis. But on the contrary, if he said this was just a one-night stand, he would be lying because it was so much more than that.

Plus, he knew Annabeth would kick his nuts if he gave her that kind of answer. He didn't want to risk it.

"I . . . I don't know." Percy admitted.

"Figures." Annabeth said with a slight tone of relief. It seems she's having a hard time defining their relationship after all. Then she stood up and starts getting dressed. "Last night never happened, you hear me?"

"Wait, what do you-"

"It was a bad move on my behalf." Annabeth said as she put her shirt on. For some reason, she was reluctant to meet Percy's eyes. "Let's just forget any of this happened."

"Annabeth, can you just wait for a-"

"It's fine." Annabeth cut him off again. "We'll just act normally after this. We can go on our separate lives."

"Annabeth, will you just listen to-"

"I said it's fine!" Annabeth snapped. It wasn't until Percy saw her face directly that he realized she'd been crying.

"No, it's not." Percy insisted. "We have to figure this out and-"

"Figure what out?" Annabeth gave a pained smile. "This was just a temporary fling. Nothing more."

"Nothing more?" Percy asked. He felt a bit annoyed by that answer. This wasn't just a temporary fling. "Is that how you look at this?"

Annabeth wiped her tears. "What do you want me to say, Percy?" Annabeth asked. "That I love you? That I want you? That I wish that you are mine even though that is totally immoral and impossible because you belong to one of my friends but I don't care because . . ." Annabeth stopped herself. "I should go." She said as she made her way to the door.

"Annabeth please just-"

"It's fine, Percy." Annabeth said while sobbing. "I know you can't make the choice so I'll make it for you. Goodbye." Annabeth said as she left and slammed the door shut behind her, leaving Percy utterly confused and conflicted.

But his day was about to get worse.

He heard his Glasses ring so he picked it up. He noticed it was a call from Piper so he answered it. "Hell-"

"What did you do?" Piper asked with an angry tone.

"Sorry?"

"What. Did. You. Do?" Piper asked.

"What?"

"Do not play dumb with me Percy." Piper said angrily. "I have not been able to contact Artemis yet but I swear to god I will kill you if I see you."

"What are you talking about?"

"What do you mean what am I talking about?" Piper almost shouted. "It's all over the news!"

"What-" Then his Glasses rang again. "I have to take that, sorry."

"Percy, don't you dare-"

"Hello?" Percy greeted.

"Dude, what in the actual fuck were you thinking?" Jason said from the other line. "You have a death wish or something?"

"What is everyone going on about?" Percy asked, clearly tired of this.

"Everyone's been trying to contact you since last night. And when I mean everyone, I mean _everyone_." Jason said. "I don't know why you did it, but you've gotta fix this fast or the whole world will blow up. And I'm no exaggerating." Then Percy could hear someone scream from the background of the call. "Gotta go. Fix this quick." Jason said as he hung up.

Percy was more than confused. If there was a word that indicates a situation where he was beyond confusion, Percy would be that word.

For the third time, his Glasses rang again. This time, it was Frank. Percy picked up a call. "I'm assuming you're going to skin me through the call as well."

Frank winced. "That was a bad move, Percy." He said. "I guess you've had your fair share of being yelled at this morning, so I'm gonna let you off easy."

"Didn't exactly make me feel any better, but thanks." Percy grumbled.

"Well, I've got little to no experience when it comes to this kind of stuff so I don't know what to tell you other than, good luck!" Frank said before hanging up.

What was everyone getting so worked up about?

As Percy ran through his Glasses, he finally realized what the problem was.

Over the span of last night until this morning, he'd received twenty-two missed calls and fifty messages.

"What in the world . . ."

All of the missed calls were from his friends with most of them being from Piper. As he scrolled through the messages, it was people mostly berating him or asking where in god's green earth was he last night.

He then finally found out why.

* * *

 _Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase Were Seen Last Night Sharing A Moment With Each Other! The New Power Couple of Olympia?_

 _Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase were seen late last night in front of an apartment. The pair were caught having an intimate moment together before both of them went upstairs to said apartment._

 _Pictures from last night shows that Jackson and Chase might have a relationship going on between them, as people have already rumors on whether or not it's true. Jackson and Chase have been seen to team up in handling the mess at the Rookie Showcase few months back and have been seen teaming up again recently during their raid of the Muspelheim Dungeon._

 _The community has already dubbed them as a 'Power Couple' of Olympia, with the drama to be said as one of the most interesting one this season. Both parties have yet to release an official statement regarding the situation but it will not be for long before we get some light on the situation._

* * *

Included in the article were several pictures of Annabeth and Percy sharing a kiss.

He felt like the world was crumbling underneath him as he wanted the ground to swallow him whole.

No wonder everyone was berating him. With this news out there, he had hurt Artemis and Annabeth at the same time. He tried looking at the bright side of things.

There isn't one.

He scrolled through the messages and his heart dropped when he saw one from Artemis.

* * *

 _From: Artemis_

 _To: Percy_

 _We need to talk._

* * *

Never have Percy been so frightened by four words. He wasn't going to be able to handle this unless he clears his head.

Should he go to the Orphanage? But his friends might be there.

Should he stay home? They're going to look for him there.

Should he go to the Argonauts' HQ? He won't be able to focus there.

But there is one place . . .

 **Line Break**

Fortunately, LaCent was open and there were no customers around this time. As Percy entered, Chiron smiled sympathetically.

"Do I even want to ask?" Chiron asked.

Percy groaned as he sat down on one of the stools and rested his head on the counter. "Do you have any coffee that could turn back time so that I could redo last night?"

Chiron chuckled. "I don't have anything like that, but I have something that will clear your head."

"That'll do." Percy sighed. Then he groaned again. "How did this even happen?"

"You were followed by the media."

"Yeah, but I'm talking about the thing about the . . . the . . . you know."

"The kissing?" Chiron asked as he brewed Percy's coffee.

Percy nodded miserably. "I had a girlfriend at the time. I knew it was wrong. I knew I should've stopped it, but I couldn't help myself."

"Was it worth it?" Chiron asked.

Percy sighed as he pressed his hands against his face. "I don't know." Percy said. "I mean, I love Artemis. But I have feelings for Annabeth as well. And now, everything's been jumbled up."

"What kind of feelings?" Chiron asked. For some reason, Percy felt that talking to Chiron was so easy that everything just came pouring out. He's like that one barber you tell all your problems about.

"To be honest, I'm not so sure myself." Percy admitted. "I don't want to hurt any of them and I don't want to lose them . . ."

"But it feels like that's what's happening." Chiron finished. "And you feel responsible."

Percy sighed. "What do you think I should do?"

"Oh, I don't have the slightest idea. I am just a barista after all." Chiron said as he served Percy's coffee. "But I do know that you have to be honest with yourself and your friends. While sometimes that might not be the easiest choice, it's the correct one."

Again, Percy sighed. "You know there's a small chance that I might actually get killed here by my friends."

"If you do, I'm taking those Glasses back." Chiron smiled innocently.

"Hah." Percy mocked laughing. He took a sip of the coffee. It was great as always as his body felt lighter and his head seem to clear up. "Great coffee as always."

"Flattery will do you no good. It's not free of charge."

"Keep a tab open for me, will you?" Percy grinned. "I'm gonna be a regular here."

 **Line Break**

Percy nervously stood at the viewpoint overlooking the hill, where Artemis said they should meet.

Percy haven't heard a thing from Annabeth regarding the situation so he was worried, but he was determined to settle this one at a time.

Or risk getting gunned down by Piper, which is just a horrible option.

The morning breeze blew gently across his face. The weather looked like it was about to rain, which doesn't seem like a good thing.

Percy waited for almost an hour before another car pulled up on the spot. A familiar silver convertible. Artemis was in the passenger's seat with Zoe driving.

 _Great,_ Percy thought. _If she kills me, she has help to get rid of the body_.

 _Shut up_ , Percy's rational thoughts replied. _Think positive things._

Artemis stepped out of the car and slowly make her way towards Percy. From her puffy and red eyes, Percy guess she's been crying.

"Hey." Percy said weakly, to which he got no reply. Artemis hugged herself as she looked down on the ground. She was standing far away from him. "Look, Artemis, I'm-"

"Did it meant something?" Artemis asked, her voice shaking.

"Artemis, I swear to you that-"

"Don't lie." Artemis said as she stared Percy straight in the eyes. "Just the truth. If you still love me, I want the truth."

Percy took shaky breaths as he bit his bottom lip. "I'm not sure."

"Goddammit I want the truth Perseus!" Artemis shouted in anger. She started to march towards Percy. "I demand the truth!"

At first Percy thought he was going to get slapped as Artemis swung her hand backwards, ready to slap Percy. But it never came. Her hands were trembling as she looked at Percy.

"The truth." Artemis whispered. It then started to rain heavily, as if some kind of god was trying to make this look like a movie.

Percy took a deep breath. "It meant something." Percy admitted. "But I don't know what."

Percy could see the tears flowing from Artemis' eyes. Her lip was quivering with anger. Artemis lowered her hand. She moved closer towards Percy and kissed him, but it wasn't a deep kiss. The rain started to pour down gently over them.

"This is not me forgiving you." Artemis said whispered. "This is not me telling you everything's okay. This is something temporary."

"What is?" Percy asked.

"A goodbye." Artemis said before turning heel and walking back towards the car.

"Artemis, wait just a-"

"Don't." Artemis stopped him. "Just . . . don't." She then went back to her car and they drove off, leaving Percy behind in the rain.

Percy stood there, not knowing how to feel. Not knowing what to do.

Alas, his day was still not over.

His AR Glasses rang and he answered the call.

"Percy?" Annabeth called. "We need to talk."

 **Line Break**

"How did you manage to get two of the best Olympia players out there to hate you?" Nico asked as he and Percy sat down in the living room of the Orphanage.

"It's not like I did it on purpose." Percy groaned as he wiped the rain off of his hair. "This is all because of stupid media people."

"Doesn't change the fact that you cheated." Nico said as he tossed a chocolate candy into his mouth.

"Do you have to put it that way?" Percy asked.

"I mean, there's really no other definition for it. Cheating is cheating." Nico said.

Percy couldn't believe he was getting lectured on relationship by Nico, of all people. "You know this isn't helping, right?"

"It's not supposed to help you." Nico said as he tossed another candy into his mouth. "It's supposed to make you realize you're an egghead."

"Thanks for the pep talk." Percy muttered. "I just hope Annabeth would-"

Then Percy hear knocking on the door. "Ah, speak of the devil." Nico said. "That's my cue to give you guys some privacy. Good luck facing death." Nico said as he disappeared up the stairs.

Percy opened the door to see Annabeth standing with a gray umbrella. She was wearing a gray hoodie with flecks of her blonde hair sticking out.

"Hey," Percy greeted. He really has a bad way of starting conversations.

"Hey," Annabeth replied with a smile, which is possibly the best reaction he could get out of this.

"So,"

"So," Annabeth said. "Have you talked to Artemis?"

Percy nodded. "She suggested that we take a break."

"Look, Percy," Annabeth started to fidget with her thumb. "I'm sorry."

For some reason, the apology didn't make him feel better. Whether it's because he's the one at fault here or maybe he shares her guilt.

Percy sat down on the wet steps. "There's no need for that." Percy said. "It's not your fault."

"You're trying to make me feel better and you're a terrible liar." Annabeth said. "It's just . . . I don't know. I have these feelings for you and I can't tell what they are."

"Seems like we're in the same situation." Percy admitted. "I'm not going to say that what last night meant nothing because it did mean something. At least to me."

Annabeth bit her lower lip. "It meant something to me too."

Percy let out a small chuckle. "We're hopeless, aren't we?"

"Not you." Annabeth said. "Just me. I fell in love with my friend's boyfriend."

After a moment of silence, Annabeth asked Percy. "Do you wish you could take it back?"

Percy sat on the question. Would he take it back?

"No." Percy said. "I don't."

Annabeth smiled at the statement. "I'll talk to Artemis."

"It's okay." Percy said. "Besides, I don't think she wants to-"

For fuck sake, can he get his word out without being interrupted every ten minutes?

Percy felt immense pain on his neck. His vision suddenly got blurry as his left side went limp.

"Percy?" Annabeth called, but her voice sounds like she's talking underwater.

He then collapsed down the stairs as his body went fully numb. "Percy!" Annabeth shouted. Percy could hear the doors to the Orphanage opening as Annabeth tried calling for help.

"Nico! Percy's injured!" Annabeth shouted. "I think he- Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"

Percy couldn't really tell what was going on since his vision was getting darker by the second.

"Percy!" Annabeth called out but it sounded like she was behind a thick wall. The last thing Percy remembered before his vision went dark was the sound of a van door being slid shut and someone calling out an order.

"Bring him to the Oracle!"

 **A/N: Interesting, I would say. Do you think Percy should still be with Artemis or go for Annabeth? Hmm . . . Very interesting.**


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: Yay, getting traction again. Glad to see you guys are still enjoying the story.**

 **divine hestia: First of all, thanks! I'll keep your suggestion in mind. I am just a . . . well, not even a novice writer. Just someone who writes for fun. And I'll definitely check it out.**

 **c3w: No way of telling. No spoilers.**

 **Shin Jam: Yeah, it is. But it's no fun if it's all fun and games, is it? Needn't worry my friend.**

 **Now, onwards!**

 **Chapter 10**

 **(A/N: Things are going to be told from Jason's POV for now)**

Jason has enough to stress about with training and his friends now being in a state of turmoil thanks to Percy.

But when he got that emergency call from Annabeth, he dropped everything and went to the Orphanage.

Surprisingly, Reyna wanted to tag along.

"He's a friend of mine as well." Reyna said when Jason asked why she wanted to come with him. "Plus, Annabeth called me as well."

Jason had no reason to argue with her so they headed to the Orphanage.

It was probably the biggest gathering of pro players Jason had seen, not including the members of the Roman Legion.

Almost everyone he knew that knew Percy were here, but everyone was talking in a hushed tone as if they were in a funeral.

"Hey, Jason." Thalia greeted him and gave him a hug, to which he returned it.

"Hey sis," Jason said. "What's going on here?"

"Something happened to Percy." Thalia said grimly. "Annabeth will explain. We're waiting on Artemis."

After Thalia had mentioned it, only then he realized that Artemis was the only one wasn't here.

Jason see Nico was bandaged on the head as he sat on the couch next to Piper and Bianca. Jason went over to him. "What happened to you?" Jason asked.

"Great seeing you too." Nico grumbled. "Got whacked on the head by some guys."

"Who?"

"Later," Nico said. "After everyone's here."

Jason nodded. He scanned the living room of the Orphanage. Frank, Leo, Hazel and Annabeth were talking quietly. Annabeth looked miserable as her eyes looked puffy and her nose was red, like she'd been crying recently.

Reyna was in talks with the recruits that Jason had previously saw with the Rebellion, Clarisse and Will. Thalia taking care of two odd looking pair of kids, one with sky blue hair and the other with flaming red hair.

"I don't think I've seen them here before." Jason gestured at them.

"They're new kids." Piper supplied. "Twins. Red one is Mia and the blue one is Eli. From what I've heard from Hestia and Annabeth is that they are really good."

"How good?"

"Almost-as-good-as-Annabeth kind of good."

Jason whistled. "They got potential huh."

"Yeah, well, they're devastated." Piper said. "They're orphans and Percy brought them in yesterday."

On cue, the door opened, revealing Artemis who was accompanied by a member of her team. It was the girl from their Muspelheim dungeon raid. Zoe, was her name.

As Artemis entered, the room instantly quieted down. All eyes were on her and she clearly wasn't having a good day.

Piper was the first to move as she went over and gave Artemis a hug. "Come, sit down for a second."

Artemis nodded weakly as Piper led her to one of the couches. It seemed like no one wanted to move. After what had happened in the span of just twelve hours, Jason figured that Artemis was currently an emotional train wreck. No one was going to mess with her.

Annabeth walked up to her slowly. Jason could see the guilt in her eyes as she twiddled with her thumbs. No one made any sound as they watched.

"A-Artemis," Annabeth said shakily. "I . . . I'm sorry. It was-"

Artemis stood up. At first Jason thought Artemis was going to hit her and the two of them were going to be in a fully-fledged cat fight. But to everyone's surprise, Artemis hugged Annabeth tightly.

"It's okay." Artemis said quietly. She must've been whispering but with everyone being deafeningly quiet, she might as well spoke through a megaphone. "I understand."

That's when Annabeth let loose. She hugged Artemis tighter. "I'm sorry." She muttered in between silent sobs. "I'm sorry." She repeated.

"Don't cry." Artemis said with a smile. "After this, we can take turn in kicking his butt for putting us through this."

Annabeth managed a small laugh in between her sobs. "Thank you." Annabeth said. They stayed in each other's embrace for a few moment.

"You guys done?" Nico said, breaking the silence. "We've got a crisis to deal with, in case you've forgotten."

Bianca smacked him on the arm. "Don't be rude."

"No, he's right." Annabeth said as she took a few deep breaths and steadied herself. She wiped her tears and looked at them all. "Today, something happened."

Annabeth then told the story. How she was here to apologize to Percy and how he suddenly collapsed and got kidnapped by a group of unknown people.

"I tried fighting them off but as you can see," Nico gestured at his bandaged head. "It didn't end well."

"They took Percy?" Thalia asked. "To where?"

"Well if we'd known, we wouldn't be here now would we?" Nico rolled his eyes.

Thalia looked like she wanted to hit Nico, but Annabeth interrupted. "In any case, the reason I called you here is to ask whether you can help us in finding Percy."

"Do you have any leads?" Zoe asked.

"The Oracle." Annabeth said.

Everyone looked at each other in confusion. It seems this was an unfamiliar name even among the Olympia professionals.

"What's that?" Jason asked.

"It's who they're supposed to bring Percy to." Annabeth explained. "I overheard them as they were taking Percy away."

"I haven't heard anyone with that name." Reyna said. "Maybe you guys at the Rebellion would have anything regarding this person."

By this point, everyone who was close friends with the Rebellion knew that they were secretly working for Olympia as a defensive unit to stop Olympia from being infiltrated. All of the professional teams have been known to lend a hand or two to the Rebellion in helping them in their cause.

"We have access to a database for all the players in Olympia, so we could run a search." Piper said. "But it will take a while. There's a _lot_ to cover. And even then, there's probably dozens if not thousands of people using the 'Oracle' as a nickname, so we have to filter that as well."

"That's a lot of work." Nico said. "Even with ten people, it's gonna take at least a week, maybe more."

"I can help." Jason said.

"I'll volunteer as well." Zoe said.

"Wait, are we not going to talk about this?" Reyna asked.

"It makes sense." Zoe said. "Plus, most of you here are professional team captains. If you leave your team for a day or two it's going to raise suspicion. Whoever that kidnapped Percy clearly wants that to happen."

Jason nodded, even though he didn't actually think about that when he spoke up. He just wanted to help get Percy back. "They're going to need all the help they can get if we want to get Percy back as fast as possible."

Everyone looked at Annabeth for a decision as she became the sort of de facto leader of the group. But it was Artemis who spoke up.

"They're right, Annabeth." Artemis said softly. "I want to look for Percy as much as you do, but if we do it's going to cause panic and that's not going to help anyone."

Annabeth nodded shakily. "Yeah, you're right."

"With that, I suggest everyone get some good night sleep." Frank clapped his hand once to get everyone's attention. "It's been a rough day and it's not going to help anyone if we're not in our best condition."

 **Line Break**

Jason was on his way to the Rebellion HQ when he met with Zoe on the way. "Hey," Jason greeted.

"Hey." Zoe said. "I don't think we have been properly introduced. I'm Zoe. Zoe Nightshade."

"Jason Grace." Jason said as he offered his hand. Zoe shook it gently. "I guess we're both on our way to the Rebellion HQ?"

Zoe nodded. "Let's go together."

Jason didn't really have a problem with the idea, but it was going to be awkward as hell since both of them barely knew each other.

They walked together in silence. Jason would've preferred to tag along with his sister and Nico for a ride to the Rebellion HQ, but their ride was full so he was forced to walk.

"So," Jason said. "What class are you using?"

"Archer," Zoe said. "Like most members of the Hunt."

"Isn't that a bit disadvantageous?" Jason asked.

"Most people think that," Zoe claimed. "Until they face us in battle."

Jason didn't had never in an official Olympia tournament match before aside from some sparring session with other teams. "I'm kind of new to the pro scene so maybe I'll have my chance."

"Maybe you will." Zoe said. "Besides, with the Breaking Point tournament coming up soon, that chance might be coming sooner than you think."

"I'm just a new player, so I doubt that they will put me in the main-" Jason got interrupted as Zoe laced her fingers around his, which caught him by surprise. "What are you-"

Zoe pulled him closer so they were literally shoulder to shoulder. Zoe then leaned in closer to Jason's head. At first he thought that she was going to give him a peck on the cheek, but then she whispered. "There's someone following us for the last ten minutes. Don't turn around."

Jason's heart was beating furiously. "Who?" Jason whispered.

"I don't know. But for now, act normally. We're almost at the Rebellion HQ." Zoe whispered. Jason nodded as he tried to relax his body, but he was getting nervous.

Jason didn't notice it before, but he could feel like someone was watching them. Maybe it's just paranoia after what had happened to Percy or maybe he was just nervous around Zoe but either way, he wasn't enjoying it.

As they turned around a corner, Jason could see two unfriendly faces heading their way. Jason knew they were unfriendly because:

a) They looked mean enough to rip his head off

b) They were looking straight at Jason and Zoe.

"Friendlies?" Zoe asked.

"Don't think so." Jason said. Then, they start to run after Jason and Zoe. "Run!" Both of them started to leg it the other way, passed the way they came from.

When Jason looked over the path where they had came from, two more guys were coming after them, making it a total of four.

"We're gonna get surrounded at this rate." Jason said as they were running. "Should we split up?"

"No." Zoe said as they turned at another corner. "If it turns to a fight, we have to stick together."

"A fight?" Jason huffed. "If it's a duel in Olympia, sure. But an actual fist fight? I'm no good in that department."

"Which is why we have to lose these guys." Zoe said. "In here!" Zoe pulled Jason into an alleyway and ran all the way to the end.

Only to find themselves at a dead end. The only thing there aside from a dumpster was a metal sliding door where the handle was wrapped in chains.

Jason heard running footsteps behind them. He tried pulling the door open but was only successful on making the chains rattle. "We're stuck."

"Help me." Zoe said as she tried to push the dumpster. Jason didn't know what she was planning, but there was no time and no other option so he pushed the dumpster along with her.

As they pushed it, Jason noticed an opening in the wall behind the dumpster, leading to who knows where.

Zoe crawled in first. "Come,"

Jason assessed the situation. If both of them were to crawl inside the opening, their chasers would know of it unless someone else covers the entrance.

"Go." Jason said. "I will close the entrance and distract them."

"Don't be ridiculous." Zoe said. "We're going together."

Jason then heard someone shouted. "Check over the alley!"

"No time." Jason said. "Stay safe and contact everyone." He said.

"Jason!" Zoe called out but Jason was already moving the dumpster back into place before running again towards where they'd came from.

As he expected, he ran into the guys that were chasing him. They were dressed in back suits, looking like professional bodyguards.

"He's here!" The chaser said.

"Looking for me, I guess." Jason managed a nervous grin. "So we're fighting?"

His chaser then put on his AR Glasses. "We have orders to take you in, with force if necessary."

"So we're fighting in Olympia?"

"Not our style, but it's what the Oracle requested." He said. "If you decline, we will use the necessary force."

Jason grinned as he put on his Glasses. "Game on, bitches."

 **Line Break**

 **(A/N: This will be in a universal POV)**

It almost happened at the same time. As if someone had orchestrated it all.

Hazel, Leo and Frank were on their way to their hotel room when a black sedan blocked their car out of nowhere.

At first Frank thought it was just a drunk driver, but then men in black suits came with their AR Glasses on.

"Come with us, and no one will be harmed." One of them said.

"Who are you?" Frank demanded but it was clear they were not here to answer questions.

"We will use force if we have to." He said again.

Frank noticed an invitation for a duel in his Glasses. "And if I decline?"

"We shall then use force." He said.

Hazel and Leo stepped out of the car. "What's happening here? I've just received a duel invitation." Leo said.

"Frank, what's going on?" Hazel asked.

Frank wasn't going to put his teammates in danger by declining. They were Olympia fighters, not trained actual fighters. "We have a fight coming."

 **Line Break**

"You know, I would never expect myself to be in a situation like this." Reyna said with a nervous grin as she stood back to back with Artemis.

"The feeling is mutual." Artemis said as she scanned the area. They were surrounded at an abandoned basketball court by four people dressed in black suits. They had claimed to receive orders by the Oracle.

"If you resist, you will be taken with extreme force." One of them said.

"Would declining the duel be a sign of resisting?" Reyna asked. They received no answer. "I'll take that as a yes."

"You think you're up for it?" Artemis asked.

"You gotta ask?" Reyna put on her Glasses.

 **Line Break**

The Orphanage didn't seem like the best place to have a fight and Annabeth would hate to make a mess for Hestia, but it looked like the guys in the black suits didn't seem to care.

Thalia, Annabeth and the twins were being cornered by four of the FBI-looking people.

Although the other kids were also Olympia players, Annabeth wouldn't want to risk their lives after these people intruded their home. Hestia had quickly taken the other kids to safety, so it was just Annabeth, Thalia and the twins.

The twins were on a different level than the rest of the kids, so Annabeth figured they would be a huge help.

"Why are you here?" Annabeth asked angrily. They couldn't get even one day's worth of rest.

"Come with us to the Oracle." One of them said. "Or we will be forced to use extreme measures."

"Where's Percy?" Eli asked.

"We will not ask again." He said again. They don't seem to be interested to answer questions.

"Seems weird, doesn't it?" Thalia said.

"What is?" Annabeth asked.

"They can easily take us like they took Percy, but they're challenging us to a duel first."

"A test." Mia concluded. "The Oracle is testing us."

"A test? For what?" Thalia asked.

"Hmm," Mia furrowed her eyebrows. "Not sure. Strength, intelligence, abilities. So many variables."

"Guess there's only one way to find out." Annabeth said as she put on her Glasses.

 **Line Break**

Percy's consciousness was a slight bit fuzzy and blurry, so what he could either be something he heard in real life or just a dream entirely.

He could faintly hear mumbling and chattering in the background. He tried moving, but he felt like he was tied down.

Percy wanted to open his eyes, but it was really difficult for some reason. Percy doubted he could maintain this sliver of consciousness for very long.

In front of him, he could hear the chattering getting louder.

"-going well underway." A man said. "Once it is complete, we will have full data of all of them."

"Good." A female voice said. "And the Argonauts?"

"No sign of them. It seems they're being kept well under secret." The man said.

The Argonauts? What business do they have with Percy's team? More importantly how did they even _know_ about the existence of the Argonauts? Aside from the team Percy put together, nothing else was supposed to be known.

"Find them." The female said. "Once we have them under our radar, we can be aware of their activities. Everyone is under threat and the more we delay our plans, the more the threat will rise."

"We will." The man agreed.

"You'd better." The female said. "Or everything we've worked on will be for nothing."

 **A/N: Things are getting interesting, eh?**


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: It's so good being able to write again. And getting reviews are so addicting. Make sure to leave them so I have my fix.**

 **.Reality: Never have I met someone who enjoys cliffhangers.**

 **Perseus Apollyon: Yeah, I get that a lot. As for if I'm going for the Percabeth route or not . . . No spoilers.**

 **And now we continue.**

 **Chapter 11**

Frank didn't really want to draw any more attention to themselves other than the ones that the media has given, but it didn't seem that they have a choice.

One of the features of Olympia was the fact that you could have duels with anyone anywhere at any time. Of course during tournaments they have official arenas for teams to fight in but duelling is basically allowed anywhere.

Which means now Frank, Hazel and Leo have to fight against four enemies on the side of the road, where a lot of people were watching.

People started to take pictures and record videos. There were mutterings about what was happening, whether this was an event or something else entirely.

"What do they want from us?" Hazel asked worryingly.

"They want us to go with them and meet the Oracle." Frank said. "According to them, it's per the Oracle's request that we are to be taken through duels."

"Why don't we just decline then?" Leo asked.

"Because then they will resort to using force, which is something I would like to avoid." Frank said. "Now get ready and don't underestimate them."

Leo and Hazel nodded. The trio then faced towards their enemies. Above them, hovered their names. Apostle One, Apostle Two, Apostle Three, Apostle Four. Their outfits have changed into what looked like black monk robes, which doesn't change their creepy atmosphere.

"Uh huh," Hazel muttered. "That's not creepy at all."

With the numbers being unfavourable to them, Frank had to be careful when engaging. Overall, the three of them had a solid lineup. Frank is their Tank, Hazel is their Support and Leo would be their damage dealer.

Without any warning, the duel began as Apostle One and Two charged at them, two curved blades on both of their hands. Frank reacted quickly as he readied his shield to absorb the blows.

Unfortunately, both of them were not interested in Frank as they dashed passed him and went straight for Hazel.

Frank was going to use 'Warrior's Challenge' to force them to attack Frank, but he was a bit too late on it.

"Silence!" Apostle Four said as Frank was inflicted with the status debuff of Silence.

Silence makes it so you are unable to use any kind of spells or skills which can make things complicated.

Frank gritted his teeth. Silence will not wear of for another eight seconds. "Leo! Help Hazel!"

Leo nodded as he threw some fireballs at Apostle One and Two, both of which dodged Leo's attacks effortlessly.

Frank rushed over to Hazel's side and kept her close to him so they will now have some difficulty to attack her.

Taking down a team's Supports is one of the most basic and crucial tactics in a team duel. Supports are responsible in keeping a team's HP up since everyone is going to be taking damage constantly. By removing the healing from a team, it's like removing the heart of a team. The team's HP will be continuously decreasing and eventually drop to zero.

So these guys were not to be messed around with.

Plus, this was not a good situation for them to be in. With Frank now having to stay close to Hazel, Apostle Three would have no problem in engaging Leo while Apostle One and Two could keep Frank busy.

Even if somehow Frank and Leo can retaliate, Apostle Four will be waiting for them to counter attack and force them on the back foot again.

With just that one move, they had managed to corner Frank and his team without many alternatives.

Frank cursed under his breath. The fact that they were outnumbered was clearly showing.

"Hazel, keep the healing on Leo." Frank said. "Keep an eye on his Mana as well."

"Got it." Hazel said.

Frank charged forward as he thrusts his spear at Apostle One who sidestepped easily. They then proceed to ignore Frank again and went for Hazel, but this time Frank was ready as he already casted 'Warrior's Challenge' just before Apostle Four could cast Silence.

With that, both Apostle One and Apostle Two were forced to focus their attacks on Frank.

Frank braced himself as they launched attack after attack, to which he managed to block with his shield and armor.

By the looks of it, his health bar will be fully depleted in a few minutes if they kept attacking like this.

"Take him out!" Apostle Four ordered. Apostle Three understood as he rushed forward to join the attack.

"Leo! Go ham!" Frank said.

"Silence!" Apostle Four casted again but this time at Leo. Silence was especially effective against a Sorcerer like Leo, who relies on their spells in order to do damage.

"Shit." Leo said over their teamspeak. "Ten seconds!"

"Hang on, Frank! I'm gonna heal you!" Hazel said.

"No!" Frank said. "Keep everything on Leo."

"You'll lose all your health at this rate." Hazel insisted but she did what Frank told her.

Frank had something else in mind.

"He's almost down!" Apostle Four shouted. "Three, go after the girl."

Again, Frank casted another 'Warrior's Challenge', causing all three Apostles to stick with Frank.

"Leo, how long?" Frank grunted over the pain as he blocked one sword but get sliced by another. He kicked Apostle One away from him only to have Apostle Two slash at his back.

"Three seconds!" Leo said.

Frank gritted his teeth as he knelt to the ground and casted 'Stone Form', which makes him invulnerable to all attacks for five seconds at the cost of his mobility.

It's sort of like a last ditch effort for Tanks especially to keep them alive just for a bit longer.

And with 'Warrior's Challenge' effect still on the three Apostles, they were not allowed to attack anyone else but Frank who can't take any damage.

"Gotcha," Leo grinned as he went full ham on the Apostles. Fireballs after fireballs, waves and waves of heat. Leo really did like his fire spells.

Hazel immediately casts all of her heals onto Frank, replenishing his health bar. Frank joined Leo on the offensive as he thrusts his spear onto one Apostle and swung his spear onto another one.

"Get the last one!" Frank ordered. He knocked the Apostles out of the way and threw his spear like a javelin.

Leo lit Frank's javelin on fire as it struck its target, depleting their health bar.

* * *

 _You Win!_

* * *

 **Line Break**

Annabeth had always thought that team chemistry was something that takes years to develop and only with people she trusts.

She hadn't expect this last-minute team to work so well.

Eli and Thalia acted as their tanks with both of them being Vanguards, Annabeth used her Maestro class while Mia stuck with her Magician class.

"No," Mia said quietly to Annabeth. "Use your Assassin class."

"But we won't have Supports." Annabeth said.

Mia shook her head. "Don't need them."

"Um, excuse me?" Thalia asked.

"Trust her." Eli grinned. "She has it figured out."

Annabeth thought about it. On one hand, she wasn't really keen on getting kidnapped and getting these kids in danger.

On the other, she knew what Mia was capable off and Annabeth was intrigued to see more of it.

"Okay," Annabeth switched to her Assassin class. "I trust you."

Mia nodded her head as they both got ready. This wasn't really the optimal team composition they could have. With two Tanks, one Physical damage dealer and one Magic damage dealer, it certainly wasn't the best team.

But it wasn't the worst also.

Annabeth studied her opponents, which was a group of four people. Through her AR Glasses, they were dressed in black monk robes. Their names hovered over their head, from Apostle Five to Apostle Eight.

"Have an idea of what class they're using?" Thalia asked.

"Not sure." Annabeth said. "I think Six is their Support, so we should aim for-"

"Clash head on." Mia muttered loud enough for them to hear. "Eli will take charge. Annabeth will follow and go for the back line. Thalia will intercept the spell. I will help Eli then Annabeth will follow up with Eli's shield toss and my cover. Thalia will finish the last one."

Annabeth and Thalia stared at her, not knowing how to react. "Um . . ."

"The fight will end in thirty seconds." Mia concluded. "We have eighty percent probability of winning."

"That low, huh?" Eli said. "What does it boil down to?"

"Whether or not Annabeth and Thalia trust me." Mia said, looking at the pair hopefully.

"Wait, it's not that we don't trust you, it's just all so sudden." Annabeth said. "Don't we need to come up with a plan?"

Mia lowered her gaze, looking disappointed. "Sixty percent."

"That is the plan, Miss." Eli said. "Trust her on this."

Thalia and Annabeth exchanged looks. "You sure about this?" Thalia asked.

Annabeth took a deep breath before nodding. "I trust her." Annabeth said. Mia looked relieved after she said that.

As they were getting ready, Apostle Five and Seven charged at them first.

"Begin." Mia said. Eli ran forward with his shield and spear, looking like he was jousting. Against two people, it didn't seem like Eli was going to win this fight. He was a kid after all.

Annabeth decided to trust Mia's plan as she ran passed Eli and straight at the other two Apostles.

At the corner of her UI display she could see Eli's health rapidly declining. She resisted the urge to turn back and help him.

"Get the Magician!" Apostle Eight shouted. Apostle Six then casted 'Thunderbolt' as her staff sparked for a second before firing the spell straight at Mia.

Just as Mia predicted, Thalia was there to block the spell from being hit by the spell. Mia then casted a spell called 'Freeze', which as the name suggests, freezes and encases their enemies in a block of ice. Mia only froze on of the Apostles that were attacking Eli and it was enough. Eli pushed away the other Apostle before tossing his shield, Captain America style.

Annabeth was a few feet away from the back lines, especially Apostle Six. In desperation, Apostle Eight lunged forward with the intent to attack Annabeth and take her out of the fight.

Just in time, Eli's shield hit Apostle Eight like an oversized Frisbee, knocking him away. At the same time, Mia casts her "smoke screen" to provide cover for Annabeth as she eliminates Apostle Eight and Six. Her smoke screen was apparently shrapnel from the block of ice that one of the Apostles were frozen in.

By shattering the block of ice, it created shrapnel that went flying all over the place, making the Apostles cover their face out of instinct.

Which was perfect for Annabeth as she exhibits her abilities as an Assassin. Assassins can deal huge amounts of damage to a single target and they boast the highest damage output possible for any class.

It didn't take long before Apostle Six and Eight were depleted of their health. She swiftly moved to Apostle Seven that was still barraging Eli with attacks. She kicked his leg before vaulting over the Apostle to his front and slicing his neck off. Of course, it was all just in the game. The only thing that happened was their health bar going to zero.

The remaining Apostle was knocked out by Thalia who bashed her shield onto his head, knocking them out of the fight.

Annabeth realized everything that had happened was exactly as Mia had predicted. Everything from Thalia blocking a spell to protect Mia to Eli's shield toss to protect Annabeth from getting attacked.

She was already good when Annabeth looked through the footage of her in combat, but seeing it live in action just reaffirms it.

Mia was a genius.

* * *

 _You Win!_

* * *

 **Line Break**

You'd think that two professional Olympia players would have no problem fighting against regular Olympia players.

That wasn't the case with Artemis and Reyna as they were surrounded.

Aside from their team composition being consisted of two damage dealers, which is not very helpful, the people they were facing are not normal Olympia players.

Both Reyna and Artemis were damage dealers, which is not necessarily the worst thing but given that they were outnumbered it kinda makes things hard for them.

Artemis was an Archer while Reyna was a Duelist.

Reyna tried contacting the others to ask for backup but that proved useless when none of the her friends responded.

Their team consisted of two of the most prominent captain of teams that are considered to be the best in Olympia, so their skills will be unquestionable. But even the best fighters would struggle if they are outnumbered.

"Any plans?" Artemis asked.

Through her Glasses, Reyna could see their names. Apostle Nine, Apostle Ten, Apostle Eleven, Apostle Twelve.

"Talk about generic." Reyna said as she noticed their black robe getup. "You take out Ten and Twelve. I'll take out the rest."

"How do you plan on doing so?" Artemis asked.

"Improvise." Reyna said as she moved forward at a quick pace with her sword already in hand.

Reyna dodged a 'Thunderbolt' spell aimed at her as she kept moving forward. Apostle Nine moved forward to intercept her, to which she responded gladly by striking in a upward motion.

Apostle Nine stepped back before countering with an attempted slash to Reyna's head, but she ducked underneath the sword and tackled the Apostle to the ground.

Meanwhile, Reyna could hear Artemis being in her own fight behind her. "Hope you're doing well!" Reyna said as she pinned Apostle Nine who was struggling to get up.

"Mind your own business!" Artemis said back to her.

Reyna held Apostle Nine firmly below her as she pinned his back with her knee and held one of his hand in a tight grip while holding down the other with her other leg. She stared at Apostle Eleven dead in the eyes.

"What's wrong?" Reyna challenged. "You're not going to save your teammates?"

Apostle Eleven glared at Reyna as she fired a barrage of sharp icicles, all aimed towards Reyna.

"No, wait!" The Apostle that Reyna had pinned down tried to warn, but it was too late. The icicles were already flying at Reyna, which is exactly what she wanted.

She leaned back, using her body as a counterweight to lift the pinned Apostle from the ground so that he would be in the way of the spell that his ally had cast. The icicles hit Apostle Nine and his health bar went down very quickly.

"Shit," Apostle Eleven cursed under her breath. She launched another 'Thunderbolt', at Reyna, but her reactions were evidently delayed. Reyna could see the spell coming from a mile away as she rolled out of the way, stood up and rushed towards her.

In desperation, Apostle Eleven threw almost everything in her arsenal to the point it almost becomes pathetic. Reyna have seen her enemies react like this before: being desperate and go wild in an attempt to somehow hit the enemy.

Having composure in battle in any kind of situation is what separates the good Olympia players and the great. And Reyna was not going to be taken down by that kind of pathetic attempt.

All tons of spells were aimed at Reyna, most of which where sloppy and off the mark. Reyna barely had to dodge anything as she went in for the kill.

That's two down.

Reyna looked over towards Artemis' side to see her also finishing up her fight as she fired one last arrow at the head of Apostle Ten. The floor was littered with arrows, it was as if a squadron of archers had fired from the heavens towards the enemy.

"You good?" Reyna asked.

"Hardly a workout." Artemis said.

* * *

 _You Win!_

* * *

 **Line Break**

You thought it was going to be all good news.

You thought wrong.

Jason found himself sitting helplessly on the floor as he panted and wheezed. Sweat was dripping out of his forehead as he felt like his skin was made out of lead. His vision was blurry as he struggled to maintain consciousness.

As Jason expected, with the odds stacked against him in a one-versus-four scenario, he wasn't going to win this.

While he managed to take out two of the Apostles, the other two overwhelmed him instantly. If they were your average Olympia players, Jason would've had no trouble dealing with them.

But they weren't your average Olympia players. In fact, they were good enough to be in professional teams.

Jason tried standing up but his legs shakily gave away.

"Fuck," Jason muttered. The four Apostles surrounded him.

"You have lost." One of them said. "You shall come with us."

Jason really hated losing. He bit his lower lip, trying to suppress his anger. He wasn't angry at the Apostle or the so called Oracle, but he was angry at himself for being so weak.

"Yeah." Jason said, admitting defeat. "Give me a second."

"You will not-" He got interrupted by someone apparently contacting him through his Glasses. "Hello?' He said. "Yes. We have him. We will bring him shortly after-" He got cut off again. "I see. Are you sure? Very well."

The Apostle who'd been speaking on call turned to the rest of his group. "Leave him. We're going back."

"What? Why?"

"The Oracle demands it." He explained. Just like that, no one argued or said anything. They turned around and started to walk away.

"Hey!" Jason called after them. "Where is Percy?"

"We have plans for him." One of the Apostles said. He then stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder at Jason. "If you wish to help, get stronger. Tell your friends to get ready. He will need you."

"What do you mean?" Jason asked, but the Apostles were ignoring him as they left the area, leaving Jason in the alleyway.

Jason huffed as he shakily stood up. Just as he did that, he heard a voice called out his name. "Jason!"

Then, he was called out again but by a different voice. "Jason!"

"Here!" Jason called. He then heard footsteps running towards him from the entrance of the alleyway.

His vision was blurry so he couldn't see who it was until they got closer.

Zoe had arrived along with the rest of the members of the Rebellion team. "Jason!" Zoe said. "Oh thank god you're okay. What happened?"

Okay might be putting it lightly. "Just some light exercise." Jason managed.

"Hang on," Nico said "You're dehydrated and fatigued. Put your arm around me."

Jason nodded as he limply slung his arm onto Nico's shoulders. "Will, you grab the other one." Nico said.

Will slung Jason's other arm around his as they helped him walk.

"What happened?" Piper asked. "When Zoe arrived at our HQ, she said you guys were being chased and you needed help."

"Pretty much." Jason said. His voice was surprisingly hoarse. "These guys, Apostles they call themselves, were working under the Oracle."

"Let me guess, they want to take you with them through duelling and will use force if you decline, right?" Nico assumed.

"How did-"

"The others have gone through the same thing." Nico said. "Everybody was attacked. Thankfully, no one got hurt." They then gently put Jason inside their car. "We'll talk more later. We need to get Jason some treatment."

 **A/N: And I end it here. Bazoom.**


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N: Been beasting with this updates. Glad to see you guys are enjoying it.**

 **Let us proceed fellow friends.**

 **Chapter 12**

By the time Thalia and Annabeth arrived, everyone else was already here. Well, almost everyone. Reyna went back to the Roman Legion HQ while Zoe was going back with the Hunt after seeing her captain safe.

Frank and his team decided to head back for now since they were very tired but he promises to keep in touch later on.

Which left them with the Rebellion team, Jason, Annabeth and Artemis.

"Where's Jason?" Thalia asked, clearly worried about her brother.

"Calm down, Thalia." Piper said. "He's resting. He's just a bit tired."

"He has it rough." Nico sighed sympathetically. "Out of everyone, he was the only one who lost his battle."

"He lost?" Thalia didn't seem to believe it. Jason wasn't the best Olympia player out there, but he certainly was no slouch.

"He was heavily outnumbered four to one. It's really no surprise." Nico said. "But he blames himself for being weak."

Thalia felt bad about her brother, but now they have something else to deal with so he's going have to wait.

Thalia, Artemis, Annabeth, Nico and Piper were now in the Meeting Room, about to discuss what their next move is going to be.

Thalia had only been in the Meeting Room once, which was when they were planning on invading the Rookie Showcase. Now, they were here discussing a new threat which was the Oracle.

Added on top of the already existing threat with the Hacker, it wasn't looking good for them.

"Where are the new recruits?" Thalia asked.

"I asked them to search the Olympia database of what we know of this 'Oracle' and hopefully they'll be able to find something while we're here."

"Any word on Percy?" Annabeth asked.

Nico shook his head. "What you guys have just told us is the best lead we have so far." Nico said. "And it hasn't even been a whole day since he was kidnapped. What in the world is going on?"

Thalia could see Artemis trying to comfort Annabeth. It was unnatural on how they're practically best friends. If Thalia had been in Artemis' shoes, it would have been not a pretty sight for Annabeth.

"What are we going to do now?" Thalia asked. "Are we going to be in constant threat of being challenged to a duel?"

"Wouldn't it'd be better for us if we stick together?" Piper asked. "If they have specific targets then it would be best for us to stick together just in case one of us is in danger."

"We don't know that yet." Artemis said. "It could've been random selection."

"Maybe, but not likely." Annabeth said. "Notice how the people they've chosen are specifically close with Percy and it happened just after he was kidnapped." She then scratched her head. "I remember Mia saying that this was all a test for us by the Oracle."

"The red-haired one?" Piper asked. Annabeth nodded. "Isn't she just a kid?"

"She is. She's also a genius." Annabeth said. "Because of the way they decided to engage us, it is possible the Oracle is trying to test us. Thalia said it herself, they could've taken any of us like how they took Percy but instead, they wanted a duel through Olympia."

Thalia remembered her observation. It didn't make sense. If Thalia was the one kidnapping, she wouldn't have gone after her victims and challenge them in a duel. They had the capability to kidnap someone, so why use that method?

"Well, there's something else." Nico said as he exchanged look with Piper. "When we found Jason, he told us that the Oracle has plans for Percy."

"What kind of plans?" Artemis asked.

"We don't know yet." Piper continued. "Jason also said that the Apostles told us to get stronger because Percy will be needing us."

"Why?" Artemis asked. Clearly she was a bit on edge. In the span of one day, things have not gone well for her.

Piper bit her bottom lip. "We don't know."

"Is he in danger?" Artemis asked as she raised her voice slightly.

"Artemis, we don't know."

"Isn't it supposed to be your job to find out?" Artemis said, half shouting. Piper recoiled at the tone of Artemis' voice while Nico just sighed.

"Calm down, Artemis." Nico said. "Look, we all want to get Percy back as soon as possible. But we have nothing to go on. Getting angry and shouting like this will not help anybody."

Artemis took a few deep breaths as Thalia could see her body loosening up. "I'm sorry. It's just been a rough day."

"I know." Piper said quietly.

"Plus, we know he's safe." Nico said. "From what the Apostles have just said, it seems like they need him for something and I think they're not going to hurt him anytime soon."

Annabeth nodded. "Nico's right. If they really do need him for something then we know that they won't hurt him. For now, let's just focus on making sure that we have a plan to make sure that an attack like today won't happen again."

 **Line Break**

Bianca handed them their AR Glasses back. "I've put a tracker in all of your Glasses. If one of you gets nabbed, we can track you down." Bianca said. She then gave them a small coin-like object. "This is a Flare. Just in case if you're unable to contact anyone or they took your Glasses away, use this. It will send out a signal to everyone to let us know that you are in danger and where you are."

"You really thought of everything, huh?" Annabeth asked.

"Not really." Bianca said. "These things won't work if they could somehow block your signals. If that happens, well, you're out of luck."

"Then let's make sure that doesn't happen." Thalia said. "Thanks, Bianca."

Before joining the Rebellion, Nico said that Silena was the person in charge of all the tech stuff. Since they were supposed to be protecting Olympia from the shadows, then they need some high tech gadgets to compensate being under threat the whole time.

Ever since Silena passed away, none of them were good enough to know what they were doing. Nico and Piper knew bits and pieces of it, but no one knew about their tech maintenance like Silena.

Until they met Bianca.

"I think we're sorted for now." Artemis said. "I'll pass one of them to Zoe."

"I can stop by where Frank is staying." Annabeth said. "I'll give it to them."

"Then it's settled." Piper said. "Later when he gets better, I'll have Jason send one to Reyna."

Everyone nodded in approval. "Well, see you later." Annabeth said.

"You going back to your HQ? I can give you a ride." Artemis said.

Annabeth was hesitant, but she nodded. "Sure."

Oh, this is going to be spicy.

 **Line Break**

Annabeth half expected Artemis to have someone pick her up, but apparently she prefers to drive herself.

Annabeth climbed into the silver convertible and sat in the passenger seat. Artemis started the car and they drove off.

Things got a bit awkward as both of them sat in uncomfortable silence. Annabeth felt nervous.

Well, wouldn't you be if you're sitting next to someone whose boyfriend you have just slept with the night before?

They passed through the beautiful city which looks mesmerizing at night. Annabeth might get herself a convertible as well. The gentle breeze whipping against her face felt good.

"Are you nervous?" Artemis asked suddenly, making her jump a bit. Luckily, Artemis chuckled which Annabeth took as a good sign.

"A little bit." Annabeth admitted.

"Nervous about what?"

Annabeth knew that Artemis knew what she was nervous about. This was just her way of trying to start a conversation since Annabeth was too afraid to do so.

"Listen, Artemis," Annabeth started. This time, Artemis didn't interrupt. Annabeth thought about what she should say. Should she admit to her fault? Should she blame Percy on it? Should she confess to the truth?

"I'm not mad at you." Artemis said. "If that's what you were wondering." The car then stopped at a red light.

"Yeah, you keep saying that but it doesn't make me feel any less worse." Annabeth admitted. "Um, I'm sorry about what happened. I was the one who started it. I promise you it will never happen again and-"

"No you can't." Artemis said.

"I'm sorry?"

"You can't promise it won't happen again." Artemis said with surprising gentleness. The car started moving again."You love him."

Annabeth was taken aback by her response. She really wasn't expecting it. "Was it that obvious?" Annabeth asked.

"Not to everyone." Artemis smiled. "But I don't blame you. He has that charm about him."

"Yeah," Annabeth said as she smiled lightly to herself. Something about Percy just made him so endearing. "But I won't let anything like that happen again. It's just wrong."

"I know you won't." Artemis said as the car made a left turn.

Annabeth smiled. "So, friends?"

"Of course." Artemis grinned. "It's not like I have a grudge against you or anything."

"So, you're not mad?"

"Oh, of course I'm mad." Artemis said as she drove the car into a tunnel. "I'm mad at the Oracle for trying to take us. I'm mad at the people who took Percy away. I'm mad at Percy for breaking both of our hearts."

"But not at me?"

"But not at you." Artemis smiled. As they emerged at the other end of the tunnel, Annabeth could see the Minerva HQ towering over them in its silver glory. "And we are here."

"Thanks." Annabeth said as Artemis pulled over at the entrance. She then gave Artemis a hug, to which she returned.

"You're a good girl, Annabeth." Artemis said softly. "I wish you the best of luck."

"You too." Annabeth said as she left the car. As Artemis drove away, they waved at each other.

 **Line Break (Time skip)**

It's been a week since Percy was last seen and there has been no news of him since. The only reason that they were not worried was because they were still getting the signals to Percy's AR Glassses.

Now you might be wondering, _if you can track his signal sure you know where he is, right?_

Yes, that's true, but something was off about his signal. It was immensely weak and it doesn't really pinpoint Percy's exact location. The new features of recently developed AR Glasses is to send out a signal strong enough for authorities to detect, just in case you called for help.

Percy's Glasses were giving unstable signals. It's like throwing a pebble into an ocean and trying to keep track of the ripples it made.

After a week, they have almost sorted out every single player with the name of 'Oracle' in the entire Olympia database. The search result came up with over one million players.

With Zoe and Jason helping them, their efforts to find Percy became slightly easier but it still would take a very long time.

Mr. Don had contacted Piper about the case and said to spare no expense in finding him while making sure it stays a secret.

Clearly he was worried about his son, but he didn't want the people to know. Otherwise random people might pop up claiming to be the 'Oracle' and demand ransom money, which complicates things even further.

The Oracle had made no attempts in trying to contact anyone regarding Percy's kidnapping. If there was a motive behind it, no one knew what it was. Aside from their engagements with a few Apostles every now and then, nothing else was known.

They tried to capture some of the Apostles in an attempt to interrogate them, but they were good in running away.

Currently, Annabeth, Mia and Thalia were doing some shopping for Mia who was excited for her first official duel with a few of the Minerva members.

Well, not really an official duel since it's supposed to be a secret, but it'll be the first time Mia will be up against professional players.

"Need new staff." Mia said. "This one has a low cast time."

Annabeth chuckled. Annabeth decided to take Mia under her wing since she reminded Annabeth of herself when she was younger.

"Well, we'll take a look around first and then you can decide which one you want." Annabeth said.

Mia nodded shyly as they arrived at the Plaza, the biggest Olympia market around this area. It was crowded as usual with dozens of people bustling around. The place was busy all the time except for night time where the Plaza is closed. It was made that way so that the Plaza would be free for Olympia events at night.

The evening sky was splashed with the colour orange as the sun was setting. They have probably a few hours before the Plaza closed down so they decided to take their time.

"Come to think of it, I need a new weapon." Thalia said. "Spear is just not my thing anymore."

"But you're good with a spear." Annabeth pointed out.

Thalia shrugged. "It got boring."

Annabeth rolled her eyes as they toured around the Plaza. As usual, the assortments of items and equipment that were sold in the Plaza was nothing short of fascinating. Some of the items that were sold even piqued Annabeth's interest.

"I might get something for myself," Annabeth muttered to herself.

"How about the cat ears?" Thalia teased as she pointed to a pair of cat ears that can be worn. "They're good for looking cute."

Annabeth felt her face getting red. "No way. You're being ridiculous."

Mia nodded in agreement. "She's right."

"Thank you," Annabeth said, relieved someone was on her side.

"No, I meant Thalia. They would make you look cute." Mia said.

Thalia laughed as Annabeth rolled her eyes. They took a few more laps around the Plaza until it was almost night time.

 _Attention everyone!_ An announcement rang throughout the Plaza. _The Plaza will be closed in thirty minutes._

The announcement was then repeated for a few more times before it went silent.

"I guess we better head back." Thalia said. Annabeth nodded in agreement along with Mia.

Mia looked elated as she had found what she's been looking for and so did Thalia. Annabeth on the other hand didn't buy anything. It's not like she didn't want to, but it didn't seem worth it.

The trio were on their way back when Annabeth noticed something peculiar. At this time of the day with the Plaza almost closed, everyone should be heading home by now. There was no reason for people to stay here.

But there was one person who moved the opposite way of the crowd. It was almost impossible not to notice. The person had a hood over their head so it was hard to see their face. Annabeth took out her Glasses to make sure that it wasn't from Olympia and true enough, they were wearing a hood in real life.

The in-game name that hovered above the person was 'Oracle'.

Annabeth stopped in her tracks. She stared at the Oracle. The Oracle didn't seem to notice her thought.

"Annabeth?" Thalia asked when she noticed Annabeth wasn't moving. "What's wrong?"

Thalia followed her line of sight to see the player with the name of 'Oracle'. She gasped. "Is that the person?"

"I don't know." Annabeth said nervously. "But he looks nervous."

"It's a guy?" Thalia asked.

"No," Mia said. "Girl. Her hood is puffy. She has thick hair. And she's shorter than normal."

"So she's a girl." Thalia said. "Should we follow her?"

Annabeth was hesitant. What if the Oracle new they were following her and was leading them to an ambush? What if it's not the Oracle that they were searching for?

"Call for backup." Annabeth said. "I will stay with her."

"Annabeth, wait!" Thalia tried to stop her but Annabeth was already on the move. It was hard to manoeuvre around the crowd when the crowd is going to opposite way that she was going.

The Oracle seemed like she had no trouble moving whatsoever. Annabeth was watching her without her AR Glasses so she doesn't do some trick that would obstruct her vision.

As the Oracle made her way to the center of the Plaza, Annabeth noticed a few other people with her. Two guys in black suits, similar to the ones that had attacked them, were dragging along another person who looked weak and helpless.

Annabeth put her Glasses on to see that the guys in the black suits were Apostles and the person getting dragged was someone who Annabeth didn't know. His name sounded German.

She tried getting closer but before she could, the Oracle spoke up. "Players!" Her voice was surprisingly loud, it was as if she'd taken over the announcement system at the Plaza.

Everyone turned their attention towards her. Through Annabeth's Glasses, the Oracle was holding a Revolver handgun.

"This is what happens to the players of Olympia!" The Oracle announced. The man that they had been dragging along started to struggle to break free, but the two Apostles had a very firm grip on him.

"Let me go!" The man shouted defiantly. "Help!" He turned towards the crowd, but nobody moved.

The Oracle aimed the handgun straight at the man's head. Just for confirmation, Annabeth took off her own Glasses to see that nothing was in the Oracle's hand in real life. This was nothing but a lousy threat.

But then, the Oracle's hand moved as if it had just shot a handgun, even thought there was nothing in her hand. Everyone then gasped in shock. The man that was being held went limp.

Annabeth put her Glasses on to see that the tip of the barrel of the Oracle's handgun was smoking, indicating it had been fired. There was no bullet wound on the man's head or body, but he was lifeless.

The Apostle released the body from their grip and it collapsed like a ragdoll. The Oracle turned to the crowd. "None of you are safe!" She said loudly. "You are all in danger! Your life is at the hands of the Olympia creators! You will die!"

That was when the screams of panic filled the air as the Oracle and her Apostles disappeared out of view. Annabeth struggled against the crowd and went towards the body.

This has to be a trick. There was no way to kill someone through Olympia.

Annabeth checked the body for a pulse.

He was confirmed dead.

 **A/N: You guys seemed worried. Don't worry. It's going to be a Pertemis.**


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N: Just note these updates would be slowing down in a moment since I'm getting caught up in assignments.**

 **Istg Rural Development 101 is the most annoying thing ever.**

 **Shin Jam: Got you scared, huh?**

 **CptK3nt: Glad to hear it.**

 **Onwards!**

 **Chapter 13**

By the time the authorities have arrived, the Plaza had been cleared of people except for Annabeth, Thalia and Mia.

Nico and Piper were on their way. Annabeth and the others were being held for interrogation as witnesses.

By the time they had finished interviewing Thalia, Annabeth was shaken. She tried to hide it for the sake of Thalia and Mia, but she failed miserably. Her hand was trembling and her breath was shaky.

Annabeth have seen deaths in movies before, but this was a total other thing. Nothing could've prepared her to witness a murder live in front of their eyes.

Mia and Thalia were shaken as well. Mia was clinging close to Annabeth as she held her hand tightly.

Thalia went over to where Annabeth was sitting just outside the Plaza. The body had been carried away as the entire Plaza has been closed out by yellow tapes. The paramedics that have come to take care of them were about to leave as well.

Nico then arrived with Piper. As they exited the car, Piper rushed towards them and gave all three of the a hug. "I'm so glad you're safe." She exclaimed in relief.

"Yeah," Annabeth managed. "I'm glad we're safe as well."

"What happened?" Nico asked.

Annabeth told them the full story, how she spotted the Oracle out in the open and how they publicly executed that poor guy in front of dozens of people. And how they had done it through Olympia.

"I've done some background research on the victim." Piper said. "Apparently, he was a small time hacker that's been exploiting lots of people for money."

"Not exactly an angel." Thalia said. "But still, not sure if he deserved to die."

Nico nodded in agreement. "This was a statement by the Oracle. They are about to make their move. If they that kind of technology, then everyone is going to be under threat."

"What should we do?" Annabeth asked.

"Not sure, but we must be ready." Nico said. "For the time being, you guys need some rest."

Annabeth wasn't going to argue. Today had been taxing for her and it was not because of the shopping. "I'll send Mia back home."

 **Line Break**

Nighttime was upon them by the time they arrived at the Orphanage. Annabeth walked Mia up to the doorway.

"Will you be okay?" Annabeth asked. She was worried about her. No one should go through that as a kid.

Mia nodded her head. She was trying to hide the fact that she was afraid. "I'm okay." She said in a small voice.

"Are you sure?" Annabeth asked.

She was quiet for a while before she answered. "That won't happen to us, right?" Mia asked. Annabeth caught her breath. This was something that a kid shouldn't be dragged into. Annabeth didn't want to put Mia in danger.

"Of course not." Annabeth gave her an assuring smile. She knelt down and hugged Mia tightly. "I won't let anything happen to you or anyone. I promise."

Mia loosened up as she returned Annabeth's hug. "Thank you." Mia said before opening the door. "See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," Annabeth replied with a smile as Mia entered the Orphanage. Annabeth waved her goodbye as she went back to her car.

To her surprise, something was waiting for her at the bottom of the steps. It was a note, no bigger than a normal playing card.

Did Mia drop this?

Annabeth picked it up and read it.

* * *

 _Don't worry, the Orphanage will be safe. Can't guarantee yours. Stay safe._

 _-Percy_

* * *

Annabeth gasped as she read the note. She looked around frantically to see if she could see Percy, but no one was there except for her.

"Percy?!" She called out. No answer.

Annabeth went to her car and asked her driver. "Did you see anyone deliver this note?" Annabeth asked.

The driver was surprised. "I don't think so. You and that young lady were the only ones out here."

Annabeth bit back a curse as she tried looking around again. Again, no one in sight. She stomped her foot in frustration. "God dammit Percy!" She said to herself.

Annabeth went inside the car, feeling annoyed. "Uh, where to?"

"Send me back." Annabeth grumbled. She took her AR Glasses out and decided to send a message to Artemis.

* * *

 _From: Annabeth_

 _To: Artemis_

 _Percy contacted me._

* * *

She leaned back on the car seat as she waited for a response, which was almost immediately.

* * *

 _From: Artemis_

 _To: Annabeth_

 _You too, huh?_

* * *

Annabeth was taken slightly aback. Her _too_?

* * *

 _From: Annabeth_

 _To: Artemis_

 _What did he say?_

* * *

 _From: Artemis_

 _To: Annabeth_

 _You first._

* * *

Annabeth sighed.

* * *

 _From: Annabeth_

 _To: Artemis_

 _Fair enough. He told me that everyone in the Orphanage will stay safe, but he can't guarantee my safety._

* * *

Annabeth waited for a few minutes before she got a response.

* * *

 _From: Artemis_

 _To: Annabeth_

 _Roughly the same thing. Told me that I need to be careful. And that he's sorry._

* * *

Annabeth chuckled slightly at the statement.

* * *

 _From: Annabeth_

 _To: Artemis_

 _So, you forgive him?_

* * *

 _From: Artemis_

 _To: Annabeth_

 _Not gonna happen._

* * *

Annabeth was glad that Artemis and her were on good terms now, but she can't help but worry about Percy.

Seems like a problem for some other time.

 **Line Break**

The next morning, Annabeth was taking an early morning jog around the nearby lake. Since it was early in the morning there was almost no one there except for a few ducks.

Annabeth had always liked the cold morning air. It makes her anxiety and nervousness go away.

As she jogged for about half an hour, she stopped to rest at a bench facing the lake. The surface of the lake was lightly fogged as Annabeth caught her breath.

She busy staring into nothing when someone interrupted her thoughts. "Mind if I join you?"

Annabeth was startled as she jumped in surprise. "What the hell?"

The lady that greeted her chuckled. "Did I startle you? I apologize."

"It's fine." Annabeth managed a smile. "I didn't think there was anyone else here. Please, have a seat."

The lady took a seat next to Annabeth. As she pulled down her hoodie, her hair gave out an unusual glow. It took a moment for Annabeth to realize that her hair color was white.

"Whoa," Annabeth said. "Neat hair."

The lady smiled. "Thanks. It's genetic. My mother had natural white hair, so it gets passed down to me." She fiddled with her hair a bit. "Though everyone seems to freak out when they see it."

"Well, I think it's beautiful." Annabeth complimented.

The lady said. "Thanks, Miss Chase."

"How did you-"

"Well, you _are_ a famous Olympia player." The lady chuckled. "Of course I'd know you."

"I guess that makes sense." Annabeth felt a bit embarrassed. She sometimes tends to forget the fact that she's actually a very famous Olympia player. "Well, proper introduction time. The name's Annabeth."

The lady laughed. "Selene." She said as they shook hands.

"So, you play Olympia regularly?" Annabeth asked.

Selene gave an exhausted sigh. "I used to play professionally." Selene said. "Now, I just watch professional games. And the occasional games between friends."

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you stop playing?" Annabeth asked.

Selene shrugged. "Some people said I was overshadowed by other talents. Some said I didn't have it in me and got cracked under the pressure."

"Which one was it?"

"Meh." Selene said. "Just didn't feel like playing. Olympia felt . . . dull at the time. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't winning matches left and right. But it just felt boring."

"What do you mean?"

"Every time it's the same match. The same tactics. The same strategy. No one dares to do anything bold or take risks anymore." Selene said.

Annabeth figured that was the problem. If you've played enough Olympia games, it gets repetitive. You'd start to see that people were using similar, although slightly different, tactics. It's the same things over and over again.

For people like Annabeth who have her reputation to lose, taking risks was not something Annabeth preferred to do. She often used strategies that have the highest chance of winning, no matter how dull it may be.

"I guess people just like winning." Annabeth summed up.

"What's the point of winning if you don't enjoy it?" Selene said.

That struck a chord within Annabeth. She couldn't remember the last professional she had where she had enjoyed herself.

The last time she was enjoying herself in a game of Olympia was after she'd met Percy and her friends, where they would constantly bring out that side of Annabeth through their wild playstyles.

"Hey, how bout an early morning spar?" Annabeth invited.

Selene looked in shock. "What? You mean right now?"

Annabeth nodded. "You up for it?"

Selene thought about it for a while before chuckling. "Alright then. Let's have a match."

 **Line Break**

Selene and Annabeth were at a public playground, which was luckily empty. Both of them put on their Glasses and their attire changed.

Selene's attire was something Annabeth had rarely seen in Olympia. Selene wore a silver hunting dress with a glittering tiara placed neatly on her head. Her cape flowed down her back as it split into two, being translucent similar to fairy wings. Her white combat boots completed her attire as being literally a white knight.

If the moon had a physical incarnation, Annabeth imagined it would look something like Selene.

Annabeth had seen this getup before, but it was way back when . . .

"Are you ready?" Selene asked, snapping her out of her train of thoughts.

Annabeth was using her Assassin class. "Yeah," Annabeth said. She got ready as the countdown starts.

 _3 . . ._

 _2 . . ._

 _1 . . ._

Annabeth made the first move as she turned invisible using her skill, 'Stealth'. It's one of the skill that was exclusive to the Assassin class. She could turn invisible from her opponent's point of view.

Assassins deal major damage if they strike from the back of an enemy, which makes this skill pretty valuable to sneak up behind someone.

Annabeth moved swiftly and silently, trying to move in different ways to confuse Selene just in case she was listening for Annabeth's movements.

She caught a glimpse of Selene smirking. Annabeth didn't have any time to worry about it as she made her way behind Selene and lunged in for a stab on her back.

That's when Selene made her move. She gracefully twirled out of the way of Annabeth's dagger, as if she could clearly see it coming. Annabeth was taken by surprise on how easy Selene had dodged her attack, but she wasn't going to let that distract her.

Annabeth quickly planted her foot on the floor and jumped sideways to where Selene is.

Again, Selene made her move at the very last second as she vaulted over Annabeth's body and landed behind her, making her tumble to the ground.

Annabeth grumbled as she got up. She tried moving again in a zig-zaggidy manner to confuse Selene. It's not possible for Selene to see her, so she must be hearing intently for her footsteps.

Once she got close, Annabeth tried slicing at Selene's back again, only to find her dagger meeting a pillar of ice that was standing in the middle of the way of her dagger.

"What the-" Annabeth muttered but was interrupted as Selene spun around with a high kick aimed at her head. Annabeth ducked under her leg but was soon met with a sword being aimed at her throat.

"Yield?" Selene asked.

Annabeth went for one last attempt as she push the swords away and tried for a quick stab, but Selene seemed to saw it coming as she moved out of the way of Annabeth's dagger (which was also invisible, by the way) and disarmed her with a slight twist of her wrist.

"Ow!" Annabeth yelped. "Okay, you win." Annabeth admitted defeat. That's when she got the notification herself.

* * *

 _You Lose!_

* * *

Selene chuckled. "Sorry about that, but you were really going for me."

Annabeth groaned as she stretched her back. "You were really good."

Selene shook her head. "Nope. Not really."

"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked. "The way you handled and predicted all my attacks were amazing."

"I didn't predict anything." Selene said.

"What do you mean?"

"I could tell from your getup that you're an Assassin." Selene explained. "Assassins can maximize their damage output by attacking an enemy from behind, so I know you were gunning for that tactic. All I had to do was protect my behind."

Annabeth found herself dumbfounded. "What about my last ditch attack?"

"Figured you would try something." Selene said. "Everyone goes for that last ditch effort when they're about to lose."

"You predicted all that?"

Selene chuckled. "Like I said, I didn't predict anything. I knew what was going to happen because I've seen people do it countless times. It's more like acting through experience rather than through prediction."

Annabeth found herself thinking all the possible outcomes of their battles. "But what if I used-"

"'Quick Hit'?" Selene finished. "That skill with the stupidly obvious tell? I just have to listen the sound of your footstep. 'Quick Hit' enables you to hit your enemies quickly without giving them the chance to dodge, but you always start it by putting immense pressure on your dominant foot. So whenever you move, there's going to be a distinct sound, so I would know if it was coming."

"Then, I'd just use a distraction and hit you with-"

"'Vital Strike', correct?" Selene asked. "The Assassin skill that hits your vital points and inflicts you with Paralysis debuff. Could work against normal enemies. Not me. 'Vital Strike' always hits the nerve on your neck. It would work less effectively if it hits anywhere else but the neck."

Annabeth then was out of argument. Selene had found the answer to everything. "Damn. I really lost then."

Selene smiled. "Don't worry about it. You're a good Olympia player, without a doubt. But when you've seen the same things tons of time over the past year, it gets easy to know stuff like this."

"Guess I have a lot to learn." Annabeth sighed.

"Not really." Selene shrugged. "I think you're a great player as it is. You just need more experience. You have no idea how many matches I've been through as the Queen."

"The Queen?" Annabeth asked. Then it clicked. Everything fell into pieces. "Wait, are you telling me, you're the Queen? The Lunar Queen?"

"That's me." Selene grinned.

"The legendary Olympia player who have won countless trophies and won many duels with top professionals?" Annabeth was getting excited now. The Lunar Queen was like one of her idols when she was watching Olympia professionally.

"Oh, stop it. You're making me blush." Selene said.

Annabeth was speechless. What should she say? Normally, she would be the one in Selene's position where a fan would be speechless to meet her. Now, the shoe's on the other foot.

"Um, uh, I don't know what to say. I used to watch your matches all the time." Annabeth said.

"Thank you," Selene smiled.

"But then, you disappeared out of the scene so suddenly. I was disappointed, but I aspire to be like you when I get older."

"Looks like you're on the right track." Selene said encouragingly. "You just have to keep going and you'll get there before you know it."

Annabeth started giggling, which was ridiculous of her. "Oh, can I ask you something?"

"Sure,"

"Why did you disappear?" Annabeth asked. Instantly, Annabeth knew it was a personal question. She could almost _feel_ Selene's mental shield going up. "Um, sorry about that." Annabeth said quickly. "You don't have to answer it if-"

"It's fine." Selene said as she covered it up with a smile. "Let's just say there are certain people that I have trouble getting along with."

"Really?" Annabeth said, not daring to pry deeper unless Selene wanted to.

Selene sighed as she nodded. "Ever heard of Percy Jackson?"

 **A/N: Pipe bomb. BOOM!**


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N: Glad to see you guys are still enjoying the story.**

 **merendinoemiliano: Glad to be back.**

 **Shin Jam: Yeah, same.**

 **. : Aha. Theory-crafting. My favourite types of review. Um, no spoilers.**

 **TheMissingChildOfFrost: Maybe. Who knows?**

 **And now, we continue.**

 **Chapter 14**

Annabeth and Selene were sitting in the park bench as Selene had just dropped a bombshell on their conversation.

"Excuse me?" Annabeth asked.

"You know, that guy." Selene said. "The one that invaded the Rookie Showcase a while ago. I think . . ." Selene studied Annabeth more. "Yeah, he got in trouble recently with you, right? I saw it all over the Internet."

Annabeth's face blushed. "Um, yeah. I know him."

Selene chuckled. "Well, I'm not gonna pry into your business." Selene said which Annabeth was grateful for. She wouldn't know how to react if Selene starts to question her feeling for him. "Guess the both of us have had some history with him."

"What's yours?" Annabeth asked. "From the sounds of it, I doubt I would be able to find your story on the Internet."

Selene fidgeted with something in her hands. It looked like a silver locket. "When I was the Lunar Queen, I felt like I was on top of the world. I enjoyed the thrill of going after opponents and the challenge of defeating them."

Annabeth could relate to what Selene was saying. She also enjoyed a challenge when it comes to Olympia. It's one of the reasons why she enjoys the game so much.

"I think it was about a year ago." Selene said. "I met Percy. To my surprise, he was the only person in the world at the time that was not playing Olympia. I thought he was joking, but it turns out it was real."

Annabeth knew that story. Up until a few months ago before the Rookie Showcase, Percy didn't even own AR Glasses. Now, he's probably one of the best players Annabeth has ever known.

"Meeting him seemed like a breath of fresh air." Selene said with a wistful look on her face. "I think it was the first time since the start of my career was when I had something else to talk about rather than the game."

Annabeth felt a twinge of jealousy in her heart. "Were you two . . . a thing? Back then?" Annabeth swallowed the lump in her throat.

The fact that Selene hesitated to give an answer felt like the ground was opening up for Annabeth. "We could've." Selene admitted.

"What happened?"

"We were talking on a regular basis at the time. It felt good talking to him. It was like I have found a best friend." Selene explained carefully. "And then we . . . spent a night together."

It didn't take much for Annabeth to understand what Selene had meant. Annabeth waited for her to continue.

"I told him that I wanted to be with him, but he refused." Selene said sadly. "He was in the middle of a heartbreak at the time. Olympia was the reason for that and he wasn't going to relive it again."

Annabeth could see that Selene was holding back an immense amount of sadness. "That's when you decided to quit?"

"Not really." Selene said, taking a few deep breaths. "After that, we parted on good terms. But whenever I tried going back into the pro scene, I just . . . lost it. Something about Percy made me feel like Olympia wasn't thrilling anymore. It just wasn't fun like it used to be. And I wasn't going to force myself into liking it. So with that, I disappeared."

Annabeth couldn't help but feel a bit . . . annoyed. Not at Selene, but at Percy. How come he's getting women like this? Is he really that charming?

Then Annabeth caught herself in her train of thoughts and realized that Percy really was charming, hence why she can't help but falling for him.

"So, he's the reason why you stopped playing?" Annabeth concluded.

"I wouldn't say it like that. That's like I'm blaming him for what happens." Selene said. "But I would say that he's one of the . . . catalyst that results in why I stopped playing Olympia professionally."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"Not to me." Selene grinned. Her wristwatch then started beeping. "Oh, shoot, I'm gonna be late." She said as she studied the time. She hurriedly shook Annabeth's hand. "I have to go. It was nice meeting you, Annabeth."

"Yeah, you too." Annabeth smiled.

"And it was a nice spar. Maybe we could do it again sometime." Selene said.

"I would like that." Annabeth replied.

"Well, gotta go. See ya!" Selene said as she jogged off into the distance. Just as Annabeth was about to jog back home, a message popped into her Glasses.

* * *

 _From: Selene_

 _To: Annabeth_

 _Just for the record, what happened was something from a long time ago. There's no such feelings from me anymore towards Percy._

* * *

Annabeth frowned at the question.

* * *

 _From: Annabeth_

 _To: Selene_

 _What makes you say that?_

* * *

 _From: Selene_

 _To: Annabeth_

 _Your eyes betray you. I know you love him. Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me._

* * *

Annabeth can't help but sigh. Was she really that obvious?

 **Line Break**

Although the Plaza area was closed, it didn't mean that the shops in the vicinity of it were closed as well.

Thanks to the Oracle, he had to be careful on where he goes to next. He was in their top priority list of missing people and they're looking for him diligently. Thanks to Chiron's Glasses, it made it hard for them to track him.

Percy went in to Cafe LaCent where as usual, there were no customers.

"I don't get it." Percy said as he sat down on one of the stools. "I barely see anyone here. How do you manage to keep this cafe running?"

Chiron chuckled. "I have my ways."

Percy smiled. "The usual, please."

"Coming right up." Chiron said as he grabbed a cup from one of the cupboards. "I hear you've been busy lately."

"Depends on what you hear." Percy said, trying to be careful to not spill out any secrets.

"Well, this is a cafe and many people have come and gone." Chiron explained as he brewed Percy's coffee. "Word on the street is that you are missing."

"And you believe them?" Percy asked. Chiron gave him an appointing look. Of course he wouldn't believe them because Percy was right in front of him. He mentally face-palmed himself. "Fair point."

"It's been quite the weekend." Chiron said. "With that public execution in the Plaza, no doubt people are going to stir."

"Yeah, I figured so." Percy said casually, although he knew what it was about. "I mean, no one likes it when their lives are at risk over some video game." Percy looked at Chiron. "You don't happen to know who they are, do you?"

"Oh, by all means I do not." Chiron smiled. "I've heard many speculations from other people though. Terrorists, nationalists, murderers, hackers, could be anyone really."

It doesn't seem Chiron knew about who they really are, so Percy could relax a little.

"If you have to guess," Percy said. "What do you think their goal is? With a public stunt like that."

"Hmm," Chiron muttered as he puts the finishing touches to Percy's coffee. "I think they're trying to expose Olympia's true nature."

"What do you mean?"

"Olympia has had some shady business to it," Chiron said. "It's not a secret anymore. But since it has done so many things to help the community, people just turned a blind eye to it. No one cares of the shady business you're doing as long as you're helping them."

"Don't you think the stunt was too daring to prove a point?" Percy asked.

Chiron served Percy's coffee. "Well, how else are you going to get everyone's attention?"

Percy shrugged. "Good point." He said as he took a sip of his coffee. The black magic of LaCent's coffee is just indescribable by Percy. His head felt lighter and it felt like a huge burden has been lift up off his shoulders. "You've gotta teach me how to make one of these."

Chiron chuckled. "Then you would stop coming here." Chiron said. "By the way, how's it going with the whole thing between you and the girl?"

Percy almost choked on his coffee. "What girl?"

"You know, that issue about you a week ago." Chiron said.

Percy sighed in relief. After his incident with Annabeth, Percy was afraid that the media had caught some sort of rumor again about him and another girl. Ever since then, he had become extremely paranoid. Percy thought Chiron was talking about another girl.

"I wouldn't say it's been solved." Percy admitted. "But I wouldn't say it's been bad either."

"Have you tried fixing it?" Chiron asked.

"A little." Percy said. "It's not easy, you know."

"Well, I have no clue on how to deal with young love." Chiron said. "But I do know one thing that would help."

"And that is?"

"A good cup of coffee." Chiron grinned.

 **Line Break**

After the incident yesterday, Nico went on to investigate the footage of what happened at the Plaza.

He hasn't slept since.

Nico groaned painfully at the who-knows-how-many time he watched a replay of the footage.

It was just as Annabeth explained, a public execution done by three people. Two Apostles and the Oracle herself.

Finding people with the Oracle username had been a difficult task, now it's a matter of filtering it out. Unfortunately, they didn't have a clue on how to filter out the names since they didn't have a clue to go on. One detail about the Oracle would've sufficed to filter out any of the other Oracles that didn't match their detail, but they don't even have that.

And with over thousands of names, it's not going to be very possible to just guess.

Thanks to Mia, the list of 'Oracle' named people have shrunk down significantly as they figured out the Oracle that they were looking for was a 'she'. Nico wished she could ask for Mia's help in investigating the case, but he didn't want to.

It's because Mia is still a kid and he was not going to drag her into something as dangerous as this.

Thalia came into the room. "Breakfast is ready."

"Thanks." Nico muttered as he tried to massage the headache out of his head. "What time is it?"

"Morning." Thalia said, not giving a specific time. "You need some rest. You've been up all night."

"Yeah, later." Nico said tiredly. "After I find something."

"What are you looking for anyway?"

"Clues." Nico sighed. "Anything that could help us shorten the list of players down and filter anyone that's not our target."

Thalia looked over the footage of the execution. Since she was there, she saw it in person. "Maybe try filtering their height."

"Can't." Nico said. "The database doesn't store information like that."

"What about other cameras?" Thalia asked. "Maybe track her down before she arrived at the Plaza."

"Did that." Nico said. "She arrived in a black SUV. Tracked the car all the way to the edge of the city, where there were no cameras left to follow them."

Thalia grumbled. Nico had tried every single method of trying to find just a tiny piece of clue about the Oracle.

"How about filtering their match history? Maybe there's a pattern in the people the Oracle has ever dueled with."

"Yeah, tried that too." Nico said with exhaustion. "Almost everyone has a match history and it's completely random. And before you ask, yes, I did a thorough check on each of their opponents. There's no pattern."

The more he thought about it, the more he was getting frustrated. He just need one detail to isolate one Oracle above all the others.

"Well, we can't give up now. If we can find the Oracle, we can find Percy." Thalia tried to motivate him. "Get some rest first. You look like a zombie."

"Yeah, fine." Nico muttered tiredly. He stood up and stretched as his joints made unpleasant sounds. He was going to go to the kitchen to get something to eat, but something clicked in his head as he stopped in his tracks.

"What's wrong?" Thalia asked.

"We find the Oracle, we find Percy." Nico muttered to himself, the idea forming in his head.

"Yeah, that's what I said." Thalia said. "Hello?" She waved her hand in front of Nico who was not moving.

That could be the answer Nico was looking for. He laughed in excitement as he gave Thalia a hug. "You're a genius!"

"Get off me!" Thalia pushed him away. "What are you talking about?"

Nico went over to the list of 'Oracle' named players that they had. He filtered in the Oracle that had Percy as a friend in their friend list.

All of them disappeared.

Except for one.

"Got'em." Nico grinned to himself.

"Wait, is that her?" Thalia asked. "Are you kidding me?"

"Never think she'd be involved." Nico yawned. "Call the others. We need to get ready as soon as possible."

"To think such a high profile person would do something like this." Thalia muttered to herself.

 **Line Break**

Percy was on his way back when someone stopped him. The familiar face that has been Percy's host for the past week.

Over her head, read her name.

Oracle.

"What are you doing here?" Percy grumbled.

"I thought I told you not to sneak out anymore?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Had to tell them somehow." Percy said. "Especially after your crazy stunt at the Plaza."

"It was necessary." She answered. "After all, you knew why we had to do it."

"Doesn't mean I'm okay with it."

"Might I remind you of our plan and how vital you are to us?"

"You don't have to tell me twice." Percy grumbled. "I get it."

"Good. No more sneaking off." She gave Percy a freckled smile as she flicked her frizzy red hair over her shoulder. "Or I'll have people watch over you twenty four/seven."

"Fine." Percy grumbled.

 **Line Break**

Since it was hard for everyone to gather each time they found something new, they set up a video conference with the Glasses. With the technology of the Glasses, it's possible to project projections of a person through the Glasses to make it seem like they're in the same room as you.

Artemis, Annabeth and Reyna were already sitting down, waiting for the discussion to start. Frank was nervously pacing around the room while Piper and Thalia were sitting next to each other.

"Is everyone here?" Piper asked. She took charge for now so Nico could have a moment of rest. After what he's done, he'd deserved it.

"Yeah." Annabeth said. "Did you guys find something new?"

Piper looked at Thalia so she could explain things. "Well, we found the Oracle we've been looking for."

Everyone gasped in shock. "Are you sure?"

"About ninety percent sure." Thalia said. "We filtered out the list of Oracle named players out there to the ones that has Percy in their friend in their friend list and only one name turned up." Thalia then passed the details of the Oracle.

"You're kidding." Frank said. "Do you know who this is?"

"Thalia, I'm not doubting you or Nico." Reyna said. "But this is a pretty big target. If we make a move carelessly against someone like her, we can get put to jail."

"I have to agree with Reyna here." Annabeth said. "This is a big name. And I'm talking _really_ big. If we mess this up . . . it's over for us."

"I know of the risk," Thalia said, trying not to look afraid. "But it's the best lead we have so far."

They knew the risk was big on this one. It would've been fine if their target was just some no-name person, but this is something else. Everyone looked worried.

Well, almost everyone.

"It's her." Artemis said confidently.

"How would you know?" Annabeth asked.

"It's the perfect disguise. You could play the role of a terrorist like the Oracle and be the face of a company that has helped developed Olympia. No one would suspect you. Especially someone like her." Artemis explained. "She's close to our age. They wouldn't think that a kid like her could be a threat to anybody."

That seem to make them a bit more assured. "So, she's the target?" Frank asked.

"She's the target." Artemis repeated in confirmation. "So, what's the plan?"

 **A/N: I think you now have an idea on who the Oracle is :D**


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N: My head hurts.**

 **Shin Jam: I can assure you it's Pertemis. It's just easier to explain thi** **ngs from Annabeth's perspective.**

 **I. Fell. Under. Reality : Gotta wait for the chapters. No spoilers.**

 **Now, onwards.**

 **Chapter 15**

Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

The Dare Enterprise has been one of the most prominent corporation that have ever contributed into the development of Olympia itself.

While not being directly involved in it, Dare Enterprise has a hand in everything. They have their own team and would always get the best equipment, latest updates, new intels, everything. They single-handedly sponsored the Breaking Point pre-season tournament.

Rachel Dare was the son of the company's CEO. Even though she's a captain of her own team and have a serious chance on being the best in Olympia, no one takes her seriously because of the stature of her being privileged. Because of the position of Dare Enterprise, who sponsors her team, had with Olympia, it was seen as an unfair advantage.

But still, she made a name of herself when she proved in various tournaments that she has what it takes to be the best in Olympia.

And now, she's their next target.

Two things Nico has learned when doing a stake out. One, it's stupidly boring. And two, the stakeout doesn't work when there's five people involved.

The van that they were in was so obviously a stakeout van that it might as well have a banner on the outside saying _We're here to spy on you!_

Nico and Frank were sitting in the front seat, bored out of their minds while Annabeth, Artemis, Piper and Reyna were crammed into the back of the van along with some high tech Inspector Gadget equipment, which made it very uncomfortable.

It was night time as well, and they've been here since the afternoon.

"Stop stepping on my foot!" Annabeth complained.

"Well, stop getting so close to me!" Artemis argued back.

"There's no more room here. Reyna, scoot up." Annabeth said to Reyna.

"Are you kidding me?" Reyna rolled her eyes. "I'm at the edge of my seat. Tell Piper to scoot up."

"I'm sitting on the floor." Piper grumbled. "You guys have no right to complain."

"I do and I will if Reyna won't move her fat ass out of the way." Annabeth glared at her.

"Oh, you did not just-"

"Ladies!" Nico almost shouted in frustration. "We're supposed to be on a stakeout. Which means we have to lay low. And that means being _quiet_!" Nico shouted silently.

"I don't get why all of us have to go in the first place." Frank pitched in. "Nico and I would've been enough."

Piper snorted. "You boys will fail horribly." Piper said. "One's and idiot and the other is as big as a bear. Figure out which one is which."

"Hey!" Both Frank and Nico exclaimed at the same time.

"Oh! There she is!" Annabeth said as she peeked through the window. The rest of them scrambled to take a look.

Coming out of the Dare Enterprise Headquarters building, was Rachel herself. Her frizzy red hair was tied neatly into a bun. She was wearing a leaf green strapless gown with a very long skirt along with white arm sleeves that covered the entirety of her her forearms.

Four body guards accompanied her as she exited the building and made her way to the pavement where a white limo was waiting for her.

"Where's she going dressed all fancy like that?" Artemis grumbled.

"She looks like a Disney princess." Frank observed. Everyone turned their eyes on him. He looked shock. "What? I like Disney movies."

"Should we go now?" Reyna asked.

"No," Annabeth said. "Too many bodyguards. We'll tag along and see where she goes to."

Rachel climbed into the white limo and it slowly drove off.

Nico started the ignition before following the limo slowly, trying to look inconspicuous.

Well, as inconspicuous as you can be while in a black stakeout van.

"Won't she notice us?" Frank asked.

"Even I would notice us." Nico admitted. "But let's just hope she doesn't."

They drove along, tailing the white limousine a few feet behind so that it doesn't look like they're following them. On occasion, Nico would make different turns that would lead into the same route just so they don't get suspicious.

"Where do you think she's going?" Annabeth asked.

"Maybe she has a date." Reyna mused.

"Maybe she has a fashion show." Artemis concluded.

"Maybe she has a modelling gig."

"Or maybe she's been invited to a super fancy ball where tons of people are going to show up and mugs like us will not be allowed inside." Frank muttered.

"That's oddly specific." Annabeth said.

"Yeah, and I think that's the case." Frank gestured in front of them.

The girls leaned to the front seat and dropped their jaws in amazement.

They had arrived at the Olympian Palace.

Do you know the Parthenon? The one in Greece?

Imagine if someone has decided to turn that place into a five star hotel. That's how this place looked like.

White marble pillars surrounded the main building and was decorated with golden patterns and designs. Hanging from each pillar was a brazier with real flames. Beams of spotlights danced across the sky from the roof of the Palace as music could be heard from the inside. A red carpet has been laid for all incoming guests with waiters and waitresses standing on either side of the entrance, ready to hand you a glass of champagne as soon as you enter.

"Whoa," Nico muttered. "I am not dressed for this."

"Look." Annabeth pointed at the entrance. "Security."

Men in black suits surrounded the vicinity of the place. It wasn't obvious at first but as they looked closer, there were a lot of bodyguards here.

And they were not looking for a fight.

"I guess a head-on assault is out of the picture." Reyna said. "Can we enter the place?"

"I doubt it." Artemis said. "Events that are held here are prestigious. Unless you have an invitation card, you're not getting in."

"Can't we just snag one?" Frank asked.

"They're delivered through your Glasses." Artemis shook her head. "And stealing someone's Glasses will be impossible either. They're locked with a retinal scanner so it won't activate unless you have the right eyeball."

A weird image popped into Nico's head. He shuddered.

"Well, what do we do now?" Piper grumbled.

"Whatever we do, I need to get out of here first." Annabeth said as she stepped out of the van to get some fresh air. The cool of the night breeze felt good on her skin after hours being stuck inside a van. The Palace itself was next to a cliff that dropped down to the ocean.

Annabeth looked at the Palace. Dozens of people were just streaming into the Palace. She caught a glimpse of Rachel who was talking to someone before she entered the Palace herself.

If anyone knows where Percy is, it's going to be her. She thought about just barging inside, grabbing Rachel and then leave, but she knew it wasn't going to be that easy. So she has to find another way in.

It was a while before someone interrupted her train of thoughts by calling out her name. "Annabeth?"

 **Line Break**

Percy was not one for big events and certainly one as big as this.

He has never felt so out-of-place as he tried so hard not to be seen. The Palace is one of the grandest, most beautiful places Percy has ever seen. The glass ceiling showed the night sky while fancy chandeliers were hanging above them.

A white marble fountain stood at the center of the room which was basically just a very huge and glorified lobby, spouting sparkling blue water. Apparently the water is a fancy drink, but Percy wasn't eager to test it out.

The music was playing at a not-too-loud volume but just enough for Percy to not hear his own heartbeat. People came in with fancy dresses and started to mingle with one another.

The upper floor of the Palace was just a balcony that clings along the wall, making a full lap around the room. It's only for the VVIPs, as far as Percy could tell as not many people were allowed up there.

The theme for the party was masquerade, which was cliched in Percy's opinion. But at least people would not recognize him on sight.

His mask was black, bird-like domino mask. He looked like the protagonist of a Van Helsing movie. His outfit was a three-piece navy blue tailcoat tuxedo over a white buttoned shirt and a bowtie.

Percy wasn't feeling comfortable in this outfit. It was too constricting in . . . certain areas that he was not willing to discuss.

Percy was drinking a drink that tasted like apple juice. At first he thought it was champagne, but the bartender assured him it was non-alcoholic.

It wasn't like he doesn't drink alcohol, but it's not the best choice when he's out here on a job.

He kept his eyes open to check on each of the guests in the Palace. If it wasn't for the mask, he wouldn't have a difficult time. But since it's a masquerade party, he didn't have a choice.

He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Rachel in her green dress and a sparkling blue domino mask with three peacock feathers at the corner of it. Her hair was tied neatly into a frizzy ponytail.

"Hey," She smiled.

Percy sighed. "I thought you said you won't be here?"

"Just thought I'd surprise you." Rachel said.

"You do know it's dangerous, right?" Percy asked. "Or do you not trust me?"

"Oh, I know of the dangers." Rachel said. "And it's mainly the second part."

"Mainly? Is there another reason for you to be here?" Percy asked.

Rachel gave him a sly look and winked. "Dance with me?"

Percy wasn't going to make any progress if he just sits here and do nothing. Plus, a guy standing still in a lively would be suspicious. He offered his hand, to which Rachel gracefully accepted.

Percy felt like in another life, Rachel would be a fully-fledged cartoon princess.

Rachel led him to the center of the room, near the fountain. As they arrived there, the music turned into something slow. On one hand, Percy held Rachel's hand while he placed the other near her waist.

Percy wasn't really a dancing guy, but he learned the basics of it when he was dating Artemis during the first years of their relationship.

As he danced with Rachel, their movements synced together with the music as they seem to float across the room. Although it might've looked beautiful to other people, Percy felt like he was trying to avoid land mines as he cautiously be mindful of where he puts his foot at.

Rachel was looking him straight in the eyes while he was trying hard not to meet her eyes. "Are you looking for someone?" Rachel asked in a soft voice.

"Yeah, I'm looking for our target." Percy said. Percy lifted his arm as Rachel twirled around once before facing Percy again. "With all these masks on, shit's difficult."

"Not really." Rachel shrugged as they continued to dance. "You need to have to look closer. You'll know him when you see him."

"That really doesn't help." Percy grumbled. More people were now joining the dance as well.

"Lift me." Rachel said. Without meaning to, Percy put both hands on her waist and lifted her up for a short time before putting her back down. The fact that she also jumped at the same time made Percy grateful.

The audience that were watching them were clapping followed by some fascinated _Ooh_ and _Wow_.

"Trust me." Rachel said with a smile. "You've got this. Now go see your friends." Rachel said.

"Wait, what do you-"

Rachel twirled again, the same time as all the female partners of the dancers. As they twirled, they moved on to their next partner.

Percy's next partner was wearing a strapless silver gown that glitters under the light. Her auburn hair lusciously flowed down her back. She might be wearing a mask, but there's no hiding those silver eyes.

"Artemis?" Percy said in shock.

Artemis squinted her eyes at Percy. As she realized it was him, she gasped. "Percy?" As people noticed that they have stopped dancing for a while and were just standing there on the floor doing nothing, Percy grabbed her hand and put his hand on her waist before starting to dance again.

"What are you doing here?" Percy whispered.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Artemis asked back. "I thought you were captured."

"I was."

"Then why are you here?"

"There's something I have to do."

"Why didn't you come back when you were safe?"

"I . . . couldn't." Percy admitted. He wasn't going to lie to Artemis again. "I wanted to, but I couldn't."

"Why?" Artemis asked, her voice slightly filled with anger.

This was not good. If Artemis was here, he's going to miss his target. "I'll explain everything later, okay?" Percy said. "Right now, you need to get out of here. It's not safe for you."

"What aren't you telling me?" Artemis asked.

"Just trust me on this, okay?" Percy pleaded. He did not want to get Artemis involved in this. "You need to get out of-"

Percy was interrupted by something as his vision tunneled to a guy at the entrance. The guy was about to leave, but he had like four other guys surrounding him. Unlike his bodyguards that wore black suits, this one wears a white tuxedo on top of a red shirt. Percy recognized his face instantly as he took off his mask.

Theseus.

"Fuck," Percy grumbled. "Stay safe, okay?" Percy said as he rushed over towards Theseus.

"Percy, wait!" Artemis called but Percy was already on the move. He ran through the crowd as he struggled to get to him.

"Rachel." Percy called as he took his mask off and put on his Glasses. "That's our guy. White tux, red shirt."

"I see him." Rachel said through his Glasses. "Can you get to him?"

"Yes." Percy grunted. "Just be sure you can land your shot."

"I always land my shot." Rachel said confidently.

As Percy reached Theseus, he tackled him to the ground. A few of the guests backed away from the as the bodyguards immediately pulled Percy away from him.

Theseus looked at him in shock. "What's your problem?"

"Hello, _friend_." Percy spat. Theseus squinted at Percy's face before nodding at his bodyguards. One of them pulled Percy's mask away.

"Oh, it's you." Theseus smirked evilly. "What's up? Long time no see, Percy." Percy just glared at him. "From that look, I'm guessing you knew?"

"Took me a while, but yes." Percy struggled against the bodyguards who were holding him back. The crowd was starting to notice the commotion.

"I guess that's my bad for bringing you in." Theseus scratched his head. "Though your father assured me that you were good for it. I guess I just have to make you have an _accident_." Theseus grinned. "We don't want you to go running your mouth now, do we?"

Percy glared daggers at Theseus. "How many?"

"What are you talking about?"

"How many did you kill?" Percy asked angrily.

"Ah, let's see." Theseus tapped his chin. "Honestly, after the hundredth one I've stopped counting." He shrugged nonchalantly, as if the thing he'd stopped counting wasn't the amount of murders he'd committed.

"I'm taking you down." Percy said.

"With what?" Theseus laughed. "You're outnumbered. And plus, you have nothing against me. One wrong move, and they'll send you to the Detention Centre for _life_."

"You ready?" Percy asked.

"For what?" Theseus asked back, but the question wasn't meant for him.

"Ready." Rachel replied.

Percy was about to make his move when out of nowhere, Annabeth and Nico charged in from the crowd and tackled the bodyguards that were holding Percy. He was in shock of what had just happened.

Where did they come from?

"Percy!" Rachel shouted in their teamspeak. "Now!"

Percy snapped back from his momentary confusion and took out the device that Rachel had given him. He threw it at Theseus who caught it.

"What the fuck is this supposed to be?" Theseus asked he studied the device. It looked like a poker chip.

Percy made a finger gun at him and mimicked a shooting motion.

"Bang." Rachel said. There was a gunshot and Theseus dropped dead with no gun wound.

Panic ensued across the Palace as everyone scrambled for the exit. "Nice work." Rachel said. "Good luck on getting out."

"Percy!" Nico called as he stood up. "What the fuck was that? Did you kill him?"

"Um," Percy didn't know what to do. They were not supposed to be here.

"Bring them in. I will explain to them." Rachel said.

Percy sighed. He looked over to see Artemis was also with them. "Come with me!" Percy shouted over the crowd. "I'll explain everything."

"Well, we've got a ride." Nico said. "If you want a quick getaway."

"Even better." Percy nodded. "Let's go!"

 **Line Break**

They were at the Pier when they were finally out of sight of everyone. Percy was panting after being exhausted from the sheer nervousness of being in that room.

His friends didn't look too good either after what happened.

Percy crashed onto the sand dunes, feeling tired as hell.

"Okay," Artemis said. "Now will you explain everything to us?"

"Yeah man." Frank said. "I thought you were being held captive. What were you doing in that party?"

Percy took a moment to catch his breath. "I'll explain when Rachel's here." Percy said. "How about you guys? Why were you guys there?"

"Well . . ." They told Percy everything, from how they knew Rachel was the Oracle to how they followed her to the Palace.

"Huh. Nice work." Percy said. "Who let you in?"

"Selene." Annabeth said. "Ring any bells?"

Unfortunately, it did. "Oh. Um. How is she?"

"She's fine." Artemis said as she waved her hand dismissively.

"Wait, how did you guys know about Selene?" Percy asked.

"These two did. We don't." Piper asked as she gestured at Annabeth and Artemis.

"I met her on a jog." Annabeth said simply. "We talked. Then I told Artemis." That's one way to simplify it. "Now, your turn to talk."

Percy was about to tell them when a white limousine stopped by the pier. Rachel stepped out of it and walked over towards them.

Percy could tell that his friends were not on good terms with her, which he sort of understands. After the thing with the Apostles, the kidnapping of Percy, the killing of the Plaza, and now the Palace incident, Rachel wasn't giving any of them a good first impression.

"Hello." Rachel said with a smile. "Nice to meet you guys."

None of them said anything. They just waited for Rachel to make a move so they could have an excuse to take her down.

"Tough crowd." Rachel said. "I'm guessing you already know who I am."

"The Oracle." Reyna said. "The one that's been terrorizing us this past week."

"I'm afraid you're wrong." Rachel said. "I've sent my Apostles to test you. To judge your strength. To improve your abilities."

"Uh huh," Nico said, clearly unimpressed. "I'm calling bullshit."

"She's right." Percy stepped in. He has to convince his friends that Rachel wasn't a bad person. "It's been a test for you guys."

"Why do you need to test us?" Artemis asked. "And why are you siding with her anyway?"

"We need to talk someplace safe." Percy said.

"Ah, then all of you are invited to my home." Rachel said. "Take it as a sign of good faith."

 **A/N: Figured I'd end it there.**


	17. Chapter 16

**A/N: Got some free time, so I'm gonna update a few.**

 **Merendinoemiliano: Yeah, I know. Been practicing on writing more descriptive scenes because I suck at it. And, maybe soon.**

 **Shin Jam: Sword Art Online? No. The only people that are going to be in love with the boy are two people, Annabeth and Artemis.**

 **Sidvicious97: Yes, it'll be a Pertemis with a one-sided Percabeth relationship. Don't worry, it's 100% Pertemis.**

 **Side A/N: Notice how I don't really specify an exact location in many of the places I describe? Because I don't know much about anything regarding to the outside cities aside from where I live. So, I decided to go with a somewhat fictional approach and just describe how they look like and what they're called, so your imaginations can go wild.**

 **And we continue. Onwards!**

 **Chapter 16**

Arriving by a limousine was fancy enough for Percy's standard. But when they entered the penthouse, it was a whole another level of luxuriousness.

Is that a word?

"Whoa," Percy muttered. As he gaped his surroundings. The living room was constructed like a semi circle with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the ocean. Outside the window was a balcony that surrounded the living room, laid with couches, a couple of sunbathing lounge chairs and a telescope for some odd reason.

The living room itself was impressive. Three couches surrounded a what seemed like a virtual fireplace with a flat-screen TV above it. To their left, built into the black marble wall was a bar complete with stools and racks of bottles of drinks just waiting to be served. On his other side was the kitchen and dining area with angelic white mixed in black marble.

On one end of the room Percy could see stairs leading up, but the entrance of it was closed off with a chain.

"Welcome." Rachel said as she led them in. Percy has been stuck with Rachel for over a week, yet he's never been to her house. "Please, make yourselves at home."

Annabeth whistled. "Nice place."

"Better than my crib," Nico muttered.

"You know we're not allowed to get penthouses and shit." Piper said. "But yeah, it's nice."

"Where's the bathroom?" Reyna asked nonchalantly.

"Over there," Rachel gestured to a door just at the corner of the room.

"I'm gonna go as well." Frank said.

"Well, get in line." Reyna said as both of them went to the bathroom

 **Line Break**.

Percy and the others in turn sat on the couches near the fireplace. Although it's virtual, it gave out the heat as if a real fireplace was there, surrounding all of them in warmth and comfort over the cold night air.

"Crazy night, huh?" Percy said nervously. Everyone looked at him, wanting an explanation. Well, everyone except for Rachel.

"Explain." Annabeth said.

Percy cleared his throat. "I think it's better for Rachel to do it."

Rachel nodded. "Well, where should I start?"

"How about why you kidnapped Percy?" Artemis grumbled.

"Ah, I'm sorry for that. I was just _borrowing_ him. I had planned on giving him back soon, but it appears the time is now."

"What did you want with him?" Annabeth asked.

Rachel crossed her legs. "You see, Olympia is in a . . . complicated state right now. The company that founded it, Olympus, will not let you know any of this."

All of them stared at Rachel intently, waiting for her to continue.

"As you know, the Rebellion serves as a last line of defense to protect Olympia from hackers and such." Rachel explained. "One thing you didn't know is that Olympia had another undercover group with similar intent." She gestured at Percy.

"You guys remember my team?" Percy asked. "The ones I showcased a while back? They're the Argonauts."

Rachel nodded. "The Argonauts acts as a backup to the Rebellion, assuming they are unable to handle certain threats."

"That doesn't seem right." Piper cut in. "We know nothing of this Argonauts team."

"And you're not supposed to." Rachel supplied. "They're like a secret agency. They work in the dark, outside of the public eye and undetected."

"Until that day, of course." Percy added. "The showcase."

"You mean that public stunt that you did with them?" Reyna asked.

Percy nodded. "My dad had warned me that there is a spy among our midst. At the time, the Argonaut was recruiting me so it was sort of a perfect timing. I knew they seemed suspicious when they claimed to be the last line of defense or whatever since Olympia already had that."

"And when he was with them, I had done some digging around the team. Apparently, they start of as an elite assassination squad, killing targets that have done horrible things or future targets that might end up to be bad guys." Rachel said.

"Just hold on a minute," Frank made a 'time-out' gesture. "Are you saying that these people are killers?"

Rachel nodded. "Every single one of them. Although they kill mostly bad guys, that's not okay."

"No it isn't." Artemis muttered. "Doesn't Olympus know about this? Why don't they try to stop it?"

"Oh, they know. As the day goes by, they have been killing more and more. This time, their targets include innocent civilians." Rachel said grimly. "Anyone they see as a threat to _them_ instead of to Olympia is a target. Including anyone who tries to stop them."

"So they know act as this rogue organization that's just killing people randomly with the illusion of being a 'defense for Olympia'." Percy said. "They must be stopped."

"Since being the only one with any connection with people from Olympia and the Argonauts, I have decided to take Percy." Rachel said.

Everyone seemed to be deep in thought after what they'd just heard.

"Basically," Annabeth said. "You're going against a terrorist organization."

"Yeah, pretty much." Rachel said. "The reason why I kidnapped Percy was to make sure that his friends will be safe. As per his demand."

Percy sighed. "Rachel had approached me way before the whole thing with the Apostles started. She wants me to come with her but only by myself. And I know you guys wouldn't allow it, so I have her stage something."

"Great play, am I right?" Rachel wiggled her eyebrows. "I knew you'd find out about me sooner or later, but I didn't expect it to be this soon. I was hoping to accomplish our mission before you guys find out."

"So, what? You expect us to just walk away after what we've heard?" Nico asked.

"Told you." Percy shrugged at Rachel.

"I half-expected it." Rachel ignored Percy. "But I know your hearts are pure and you would never sit back if any of your friends are in danger."

There's a silent agreement among them with that statement as they look determined and resolved.

"So, I expect that you will be lending a hand on this mission, yes?" Rachel asked. Everyone nodded.

"You guys are idiots." Percy grinned.

"We can't let you die all by yourself just yet." Reyna smirked. "We still have our competition at Breaking Point, remember?"

"I do." Annabeth said.

"Got it marked on a calender." Nico grinned. "Tagged it as 'Percy's eating the dirt Day."

"Ha-ha." Percy rolled his eyes. "Of course I remember."

"Well, it's settled then." Rachel said. "I will speak to all of you very soon about our next move." She said. "Oh, and please do keep it a secret."

 **Line Break**

Percy caught up to Artemis just before she entered the limousine. "Artemis, wait."

Artemis turned towards him. She was looking anywhere else but his eyes. "What?" She muttered.

"Look, I need to talk to you." Percy pleaded. "Will you please listen to me?"

Artemis bit her lower lip. "One minute."

Percy took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Artemis. I shouldn't have done what I did."

"You mean cheat?" Artemis asked with no emotion.

The way she said it with almost no emotion somehow made him feel even more guilty. "Yes. I'm sorry for cheating on you. It was . . ." He didn't know what to say. Was it a mistake? Of course not. He knew it wasn't a mistake because he almost volunteered in it. "It was my fault. I'm . . . I'm sorry."

Artemis clenched her fists. "You hurt me, Percy. You hurt Annabeth as well."

"I know." Percy said miserably. "I'm sorry. I don't know how I'm gonna make it up to you, but I will. I'm just . . . I'm so sorry."

Artemis took a deep breath. "Fine." She said calmly. Percy wanted to hug her, but Artemis stopped him. "But," She said. "This does not mean we're okay. It does not mean I'm no longer mad at you. It does not mean we're getting back together."

Percy felt disappointed, but he could see why she felt that way. "I understand." Percy said softly.

"I think you're letting him off too easy." A voice said behind him. Annabeth then walked into his view and stood next to Artemis as she rested one of her arms on Artemis' shoulder.

"You think?" Artemis asked. "What should I do?"

"What's going on here?" Percy asked, surprised that both of them were on good terms with each other. "How has this happened?"

"Oh, we just clicked together." Annabeth shrugged. "You know what, I think you should slap him."

"Oh, great idea." Artemis said excitedly. "How many times?"

"Wait, hold on a minute." Percy said but he was getting ignored.

"How about two slaps for me and three for you?" Annabeth suggested.

"Ah, so we can slap him whenever we want?" Artemis grinned. "I like it."

"Don't I have a say in this?" Percy asked.

"A say in what?" Artemis asked. "You're the one in the wrong here."

"But Annabeth"

"What about her?" Artemis challenged. "Are you saying it's her fault? Then I should slap her."

"No, that's not what I meant." Percy said.

"So it's your fault then. Great. Glad we got that out of the way." Artemis smirked.

"Wait, but-"

Percy got interrupted as Artemis slapped Percy as hard as she could, causing him to tumble to the ground.

At the background, Percy could hear his friends cheering. "Oh snap!" He heard Nico said. "Got that on camera!"

"What the hell . . ." Percy muttered as he stood up, rubbing his cheek. "Where did you learn how to slap so hard?"

Artemis shrugged innocently. "And we're doing a Dungeon raid tomorrow. Don't be late."

"Nice slap." Annabeth high-fived Artemis. "So that leaves each of us with two slaps."

"Yeah." Artemis grinned. "See you later, dork."

Percy was still in so much pain but he couldn't help but smile. He waved at his friends goodbye as they left with the limousine. Rachel had been kind enough to offer them a ride back home.

"You have very interesting friends." A voice said behind him. For a moment, he thought it was Annabeth. He turned around to see Rachel grinning at him.

"I know." Percy chuckled.

"You know, a palm reader could tell Artemis' future by studying your face." Rachel mused with a giggle.

"Very funny." Percy groaned.

"So, you going on a Dungeon raid tomorrow?" Rachel asked.

"Apparently, yeah." Percy said. "Unless we have something else to do, I could just cancel and-"

"I want to join in." Rachel said.

 **Line Break**

After sending Frank, Piper, Nico and Reyna back home, it was just Annabeth and Artemis left.

Typical.

They both sat in the limo in silence, waiting to arrive at their destination.

"What do you make of this?" Artemis asked.

"What do I make of what?" Annabeth asked.

"This whole predicament we're in. Where we're basically fighting a group of terrorist."

Annabeth sighed. "I hate for my friends to be in danger." Annabeth said. "Plus, Olympia has done so much for me, so I kind of owe it to the game. And it's a chance for us to save the world, so why not?"

"That's one way of seeing it." Artemis chuckled. "It's going to be dangerous, you know?"

"Never stopped me before." Annabeth grinned. "By the way, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Since you won't be getting back Percy for the time being, mind if I have him?"

"Oh don't you even dare."

Both girls laugh at their slightly heavy banter.

 **A/N: We shall continue this, tomorrow.**


	18. Chapter 17

**A/N: Ah, apologies for the delay. Assignments have been catching up with me so my updates are going to be slower than usual. Sorry in advance.**

 **Anonymous1994: I know. Girls, right? Been in that situation before too.**

 **merendinoemiliano: Thanks man. Good luck to you too on your . . . whatever it is you do.**

 **Shin Jam: Can't promise you that, but I'll try.**

 **divine hestia: Thanks!**

 **Onwards!**

 **Chapter 17**

Percy was waiting for his friends to come as he arrived at the promised Dungeon location. It was some sort of underground maze. Apparently, Olympia developers have been secretly constructing these types of structures for their Dungeon events as well as using abandoned buildings and such like the Muspelheim Dungeon.

The place, or the Labyrinth, as what the developers called it, is an underground maze that stretches far and wide and even having exits to different places. It's almost impossible to navigate since there are practically no signals in there. Any broadcasts or streaming are just done via the cameras that had already been placed in there in advance.

There's also no official map for them to use and the passages are randomly opened and closed with each reset so having a map is kinda pointless. It makes it so the Labyrinth is constantly shifting and changing. Plus, it's loaded with a bunch of traps. Not the Indiana Jones type of traps that can kill you, but only those that can put you into a disadvantage. For example, a trap that can inflict the Paralyze status debuff on one of your teammates or a trap that can deplete the health bar of your teammate in one go. Things like that.

The Labyrinth was built to host Dungeon raids frequently and it changes with each reset. Last week, the Labyrinth hosted the Duat Dungeon, consisting of Egyptian based challenges. For this week, they have no idea what it's going to be.

Percy figured he wasn't going to use his Invoker class for this raid. Being underground, there's not a lot of space he could work with. He's going to stick with his Duelist class and let Annabeth take charge of the group.

He waited at the entrance of the Labyrinth for what seemed like hours until someone finally showed up. Nico stepped out of the car with a goofy grin on his face. "'Sup?"

Percy smiled. "Took you long enough."

"Yeah, would've been here earlier if Piper wasn't playing nooky with Jason." Nico grinned.

"Shut up!" Piper said as she stepped out of the van. Her face was blushing red. Tailing behind her with an equal shade of red on his face was Jason. "I told you not to talk about it."

"Had to give some kind of an excuse for being late." Nico wiggled his eyebrows.

Percy grinned at Piper and Jason. "So, you two," He gestured at both of them. "You guys are a thing now?"

"Um, well, uh," Jason managed.

"Nice." Percy grinned. "Well, I'm happy for you."

"Thanks?" He said it like a question. "But dude, it's so good to finally see you."

"I guess they explained everything, huh?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, like how they saved you from the bad guys who had kidnapped you all the way from a remote house out of town. But they didn't manage to get the Oracle though." Jason said.

Percy could feel his eye twitching. He looked at Piper with a silent question. _What the fuck did you tell him?_

Piper shrugged, as if she was saying, _Had to make something up._

Percy groaned internally. "Just glad to be safe." He forced a smile.

"Glad you're safe too." Jason said as he went over towards Nico.

Percy then pulled Piper aside. "Next time you plan on telling a lie regarding me, please let me know in advance." Percy whispered.

"We fed the same story to everyone else, so just play with it." Piper winked.

 **Line Break**

It took half an hour or so, but eventually almost everyone arrived at the Labyrinth. A few people had approached their group, telling them that they wanted to join but Percy told them that they were full, which wasn't really true. Since Dungeon raids are limited to twenty people, they have space to put more people in but since this was an event for just his friends he decided against it.

"So, everyone's here?" Annabeth asked.

Percy counted the heads. "We've got one more on the way."

"Who?"

"Rachel."

There was a brief pause from Annabeth. "I'm sorry, I thought you said Rachel. Who are we waiting for?"

Percy raised an eyebrow at her. "What's wrong?"

Annabeth looked around and pulled him aside out of everyone else's earshot. "Why is she joining us?"

Percy shrugged. "She said she wanted to and I just said yeah."

"Did you at least ask _why_ she wants to join us?"

"I mean, there's nothing wrong with it right?"

Annabeth facepalmed herself, as if she couldn't believe that Percy was actually this stupid. "Just, forget it." She said. "If anyone asks, you're explaining."

Percy honestly couldn't see what the problem was so he just shrugged it off. Rachel then soon arrived in her white limousine.

"Speak of the devil." Annabeth muttered.

"Are we expecting someone else?" Jason asked.

"Percy's 'friend'" Annabeth said with slight disdain. "Rachel."

"Wait, you mean the Rachel that kidnapped him? That Rachel?" Jason asked.

Ah, now he sees what the problem was.

Annabeth looked at him as if to say, _See what I mean?_

Rachel stepped out of the white limousine and was a bit surprised to see her in casual clothes. Most of the time, Percy always see her in formal clothing or dresses, but never casual. She said something to the driver before the limousine turned and drove off.

"What is she doing here?" Artemis asked.

"Ask Percy." Annabeth said, rolling her eyes.

Rachel approached them. "Hey." She said timidly.

"Are you the one that kidnapped Percy?" Jason asked without hesitation.

Rachel raised an eyebrow at him then asks the rest of them a silent question. _Does he know?_

Percy shook his head. Rachel then chuckled. "Well, what do you think?" Rachel said sweetly to Jason.

Jason hesitated. "Um, are you not?"

"That depends on you." Rachel shrugged. "If you think I'm the bad guy, then I am. I'm just here as a friend to have fun with you guys."

"Well," Jason scratched his head. "I guess if you're here and Percy's okay with it, then you're good." Jason said. "Don't think the others would take this well."

"I will explain things to them." Rachel smiled.

Artemis tapped Rachel's shoulder. "Can we talk for a bit?"

"Sure." Rachel said as Annabeth and Artemis both dragged her away. Percy started to follow but Annabeth stopped him.

"Uh-uh." Annabeth said. "This is girl talk. You stay out."

Percy threw his hands up in exasperation as he sighed. "Fine."

 **Line Break**

Annabeth and Artemis pulled Rachel out of earshot. "What's wrong?" Rachel asked.

"Why are you here?" Annabeth asked. It wasn't like her to be suspicious of people, especially those who she'd only just met. But with Rachel, she has her reasons.

"What do you mean?"

Artemis crossed her arms against her chest. "You don't expect us to believe that you wanted to join this raid with no ulterior motives, do you?" Artemis asked. "We're here to decide whether or not you're dangerous to our group."

Annabeth nodded in agreement. "We don't plan on getting any of our friends involved with our mission. They're too young and the situation is too dangerous."

After realizing what Annabeth's and Artemis' concerns were, Rachel managed a chuckle. "Don't worry." Rachel assured them. "I'm only here as a friend of yours. I value my promise with Percy far too much."

"What promise?" Artemis asked.

"A promise to keep his friends safe." Rachel said. "He cares about all of you, you know?"

"So you were joining this raid so you could keep your promise to Percy?" Annabeth asked.

"Well, not exactly." Rachel was fidgeting with her thumb. "I just thought I'd join to . . . you know."

"Um, no."

Rachel sighed. "It's been a while since I've talked to girls, or basically anyone, that's the same age as me." Rachel admitted. Annabeth has been good in reading body language and judging from hers, this was something that was hard for her to admit.

"Being born into luxury your whole life means that everyone that talks to you always want something from you." Rachel explained. "It's been a while since I've felt a sincere relationship with another person other than my family. Even then, they're rarely at home. Percy has been the only person that I've truly became friends with over the past year. And when I met you guys . . . well, I was just hoping we could be friends."

Annbeth didn't know Rachel felt that way. Although, she knew it must've been hard on her. Born as a girl of high stature, much was expected from her. Most people that know her tend to be ass-kissers who want a piece of the pie.

And from her body language, Annabeth could tell that she was sincere.

"Sure." Annabeth said with a smile. "Just so you know, we tend to do things the hard way. So, try to keep up."

Rachel grinned, clearly happy to be accepted. "Of course."

Artemis then unexpectedly hugged Rachel. Annabeth caught Artemis whispering something into Rachel's ear, but she couldn't figure out what.

When Artemis pulled away, Rachel looked flustered. "Oh, of course not." She said suddenly to Artemis. "I mean, I knew about it and I knew what you went through because of the media. But don't worry, we're just friends. I mean, I like him, but we're just friends."

"Glad to see we're on the same page." Artemis grinned. "Shall we?"

 **Line Break**

Percy didn't know what the girls talked about, but it seemed to work wonders seeing as how the three of them looked like the best of friends.

"Okay guys, huddle up." Annabeth called and everyone came closer.

Among the group were the Rebellion, which included Nico, Piper and Thalia. Their new recruits didn't look like they were joining today, which Percy didn't really mind. Artemis brought Zoe to come along with her. Reyna and Rachel were the only ones who came in solo by themselves. Frank, Leo and Hazel looked a bit excited for this upcoming raid.

The ones that surprised Percy the most were the twins, Mia and Eli, who had arrived along with Annabeth. When Percy asked them, they just said that Annabeth invited them to join.

"She says it's gonna be a good practice for us." Eli said with his hands behind his head. "Plus, Mia insisted on going."

"It's dangerous, you know?" Percy said.

Eli shrugged. "We survived the Battle Royale against you. How hard can it be?"

"Eli is overconfident." Mia muttered next to him. "High probability of dying first."

"Hey!"

Percy smiled at the twins' antiques as he went over to where Annabeth was. There was a few minutes before the Dungeon was open for them so they were doing a small briefing of their team composition.

A team composition is important because it avoids confusion among them and so that everyone knows what they're supposed to do.

"Role call!" Annabeth called. "Tanks?"

Thalia, Frank and Eli raised their hand.

"Eli, you remembered what we talked about, right?" Annabeth asked.

Eli grinned. "Yep." He gave a 'thumbs-up' signal.

"Good. Supports?"

Piper, Hazel and surprisingly Rachel raised their hand.

Rachel is a Support player?

"You guys will be backing me up. Split into two groups. One focused on healing and the other focus on buffs and debuffs." Annabeth explained to the supports. "Rachel, you're with me. Piper and Hazel, you guys will be in charge of the healing, go it?"

"Why is she joining us?" Thalia asked, clearly a bit miffed.

Rachel wanted to say something, but Annabeth beat her to it. "It's okay, guys. She's a friend."

Just like that, everyone relaxed a bit. There was such a strong trust between them. If one person said something, then they knew it's true.

"M'kay." Thalia said simply.

"So, I guess the rest of us are Damage Dealers." Annabeth said. "Nico, Artemis, Zoe and Leo, you guys stay at the back with the healing team."

"Aw man, I wanna get in on the action." Leo whined.

"Relax." Annabeth said. "You guys are magic-based Damage Dealers. You'll get plenty of action from farther out. Mia, you stay with me."

Mia nodded as she scuffled over towards Annabeth. That left Percy, Reyna and Jason. "You guys are our physical Damage Dealers."

Jason stretched. "It's been a while since I've done this."

"If you weren't smothering Piper all the time you could've joined us on tons of raids." Reyna rolled her eyes. At that remark, Jason blushed.

"Alright, everyone good?" Annabeth asked. "Then get ready. It opens in five minutes."

 **Line Break**

The entrance looked like how Percy imagined an entrance to a very secure Area 51 type facility looked like.

They followed an asphalt path heading underground that reminds Percy of an underground parking lot. Florescent lights shined above them in rows, giving them good lighting. The path itself was big enough to let a tank through with ease.

A metal automatic door stood in front of them. There was no sign of it opening, neither any signs of how to open it. No keyhole, no levers to pull, no switches to press, nothing.

Through his Glasses, the Dungeon name hovered over the metal door.

* * *

 _Lair of Arachne_

 _Opens in : 0:55_

* * *

The timer was going down by the second. "Lair of Arachne." Percy read out loud. "Sounds fun."

Next to him, he could hear Annabeth muttering something under her breath. For some odd reason, she looked really scared.

Percy knew Annabeth wasn't the type of person to be _scared_. If she is, she usually does well in hiding it. This was the first time Percy have actually seen Annabeth looking terrified.

"You okay?" Percy nudged her lightly, which made her jump.

"Um, y-yeah." She stammered. "Just a little nervous."

"Uh-huh." Percy wasn't buying it. She looked a _lot_ nervous. "Are you sick or something?"

"I'm fine, Percy." She managed.

She didn't look fine.

"Are you sure? Because if you're not feeling well then we should-"

"I said I'm fine." Annabeth said a little too loud, causing everyone to look at them.

"Um, is everything okay?" Reyna asked.

"It's nothing." Annabeth regained her composure, but Percy noticed it was a bit off. Her hands were trembling. "Stay alert and stay focused."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Percy decided not to question any further as they prepared to enter the Labyrinth.

Or Dungeon. Whatever.

 _3 . . ._

 _2 . . ._

 _1 . . ._

The sound of alarms blared in the tunnel as red sirens flashed on their sides. The metal door was being raised open slowly.

Percy readied his sword. It's been a while since he tried to enjoy Olympia. Now he was going to let loose.

"Advance." Annabeth ordered, but her voice seemed shaky.

As the tanks, Frank and Thalia stood at the front of the party, leading the way. If any enemies come their way from the front, then they can absorb the hits.

Eli was in charge of protecting their back lines, which included their long range Damage Dealers and Supports. Just in case there were ambushes.

The tunnel was just as big as it was from the entrance. The ceiling was high enough to let a double decker bus through with a few more feet of space to spare while the width of it was the length of a school bus and a half.

Lights snaked its way with the ceiling and stretches as far as the tunnel goes. For now, it seems to be in a straight line.

"Don't be fooled." Reyna said. "I've entered this place with the Roman Legion before. It's a maze alright."

"I guess you could call this maze, _a-maze-ing_." Leo grinned.

"Shut up." Hazel said.

They continued to march forward. It unnerved Percy how the only thing he could hear was the occasional chatters amongst them, their footsteps against the tarmac and the hissing noises.

Wait . . .

Percy could feel the hair on his neck standing up, as if Death had whispered _DANGER_ behind him.

He transformed his sword into a javelin. "Above!" He shouted as he spun around and threw his javelin straight up.

Right into the body of a huge spider.

Turns out a dozen of them had been tailing them from above. The others picked up on Percy's warning and chaos broke loose. Tons of spells were fired at once, which left the spiders no chance as they disintegrated on the spot.

"Holy shit." Frank cursed. "How did you know that?"

"Instinct." Percy said.

"Well, we need to keep a bigger eye out." Artemis said. "I wasn't sure when I saw the Dungeon name, but now that we've encountered the spiders, I'm positive of it."

"Of what?" Thalia asked.

"Arachne." Annabeth answered. "That's the World Boss we're gonna be facing." Annabeth looked really shaken up about it. "It comes from a Greek mythology. A woman was transformed into a spider by the Goddess of Wisdom because she challenged her into a weaving competition and lost."

"That's delightful." Hazel muttered. "Let's keep going, shall we?"

Annabeth nodded. "Keep a lookout above us as well. If it has more than two legs, kill it."

 **A/N: I guess you guys know why Annabeth is freaking out. Stay tuned!**


	19. Chapter 18

**A/N: The week has not been kind to me. Just went through a break up from a 7 year long relationship. 7 years. I'm 21, so that includes a third of my life. It just sucks. It fucking sucks.**

 **Well, I don't mean to vent here. I don't even know who I'm talking to at this point. I guess writing is my way of venting my feelings. So, to anyone who's reading, thanks for listening, I guess.**

 **Enough about my love life. Onwards to the chapter!**

 **Chapter 18**

By the time they reached what Percy assumed was the halfway point, he was sick of spiders.

The labyrinth had been a straight path up until half an hour ago where the path splits into three different paths. Leo's plan was to split up to cover more ground, but Hazel called him an idiot and said that everyone would get lost.

Another thing about the Labyrinth was its booby traps. The first one sprung just after they emerged at the split pathways. Percy had almost all of his mana drained, meaning he will not be able to cast spells, which is fine by Percy since his class is more physical than magical.

There were no evident sign of triggers to the trap like a trip wire or pressure plate. If there is one, they couldn't see it.

"We'll just have to be on a look out then." Annabeth grumbled, clearly not enjoying this Dungeon for some reason. Sure, the traps were annoying but they weren't _that_ annoying.

Annabeth suggested that they stick to the left so that it makes it easier for them to trace back their steps. Unfortunately, it barely helps because when you turn around, the path from where you came from suddenly splits into two.

Even more so, the theme of the Dungeon seems to be spiders, similar to its name relating to Arachne.

They were currently taking a moment's rest to heal up and recharge. Percy had lost count of how many spiders he'd encountered after the fifth group of spiders. The spiders shoot out poison which, well, can inflict the Poison status debuff on you as well as shoot webs, Spider-Man style and apply Root on everyone.

Luckily, that's as far as their abilities go. If only one of these spiders attacked them, it would've been no problem to handle. But the sheer number of spiders have been enough to overwhelm them several times.

"You good?" Jason asked Percy.

Percy nodded tiredly. "The place is getting unnerving, but other than that yeah, I'm good."

There was some kind of atmosphere to the Labyrinth structure. Percy couldn't quite put a finger on it, but it almost seemed . . . malicious.

"Is everyone good?" Annabeth called. If anyone wasn't looking good, it was her. Annabeth was sweating profusely, even more than some of them. Even though the Labyrinth was underground, the temperature was cool with air conditioning. So if something was making her sweat, it wasn't the temperature.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Rachel hefted her staff as she cleaned the dust off of her white robe.

Rachel's class was . . . odd. She says she's a Priest, but from what Percy has seen, most of her spells are not normally used by Priest classes nor any other classes he's ever seen.

If he had to guess, Rachel was using a class from Cut Content. With her family's connection to Olympus, it wouldn't be a surprise for her to get access to stuff like that.

"Come on, let's move." Annabeth said. "Based on the map, I believe we're halfway there."

"Is the map even accurate?" Artemis grumbled.

"Maybe." Annabeth admitted. "Come."

The group followed her deeper into the Labyrinth. If the Labyrinth has an "end", Percy didn't know about it. He doesn't even know if they're getting closer to it. The walls looked the same after over an hour and a half of staring at it.

They didn't even make it past five minutes before they were ambushed again by giant spiders.

Remember the spiders in the Harry Potter movie? That's how huge the spiders were.

Annabeth shrieked in terror as their Tanks went to work. They stood guard in front of the team, intercepting any attacks.

"L-Leo! Burn them!" Annabeth said, but the usual tenacity in her voice wasn't there. Nevertheless, Leo obliged.

"With pleasure." He said with a grin as he set aflame onto half a dozen of spiders.

"You guys, j-just die them." Annabeth said, not making much sense.

This was getting way out of hand. Something is seriously wrong with Annabeth.

"Did she just say just 'die' them?" Reyna asked.

"Look out!" Percy said as he pulled Reyna aside as sliced at a spider who was ready to chew her up. He kicked away one of them and stabbed at another one.

Spells and arrows were being thrown at a rapid pace, but the spiders seemed relentless. Sure, they die easily and are not that strong but the overwhelming numbers are starting to chip away at their strength.

In the corner of his eyes, he could see Eli trying desperately to defend the back lines as much as possible, but it was too much for just one player.

"Reyna, go help Eli." Percy said. "Our back lines are about to be overwhelmed."

Reyna looked over and realized the situation. "Got it." She said as she went to help Eli.

"You and me, we try to cause as much chaos as possible." Percy said to Jason as he sliced the legs of one spider and cleaved another one.

"I thought we're already doing that?" Jason grumbled as he thrusts his rapier five times in a blink of an eye towards a spider.

"Well, do more chaos." Percy took out a javelin and made a wide arc in front of him, killing most of the spiders that were targeting them. "Annabeth! We need orders!"

"Uh, um, try to not die." Annabeth said.

"Yeah, we figured that!" Thalia shouted from the front.

"Uh," Something was wrong with Annabeth. She then held her hands forward and used a spell exclusive for Maestro classes, 'Ring of the Heavenly Bell'. Percy could hear a tower bell ringing in his ears.

That was a very questionable move from Annabeth. First of all, the spell itself has a long cooldown and a very huge amount of heal for the entire party. Most of them had almost full health bars, so using it was unnecessary.

Secondly, why did she waste such an important spell for a small engagement? The spell she used was the kind of big spell that's used during World Boss raids and not for small fights like this.

"What the hell?" Artemis asked. "Why would you use that?"

"I-I . . ."

Percy grunted. This was not going anywhere. "Hazel! Focus your heal on the front line. The rest of you heal the back lines." Percy said as he ducked under a lunging spider before slicing its mandibles off and stabbing it. "Jason, go defensive. Don't pull too much aggro from Frank and Thalia."

"Got it." Hazel and Jason said in unison. "Jinx!" They said again.

"Nico, Leo!" Percy called. "We need some chaos. Go ham on these monsters."

"I'm gonna run out of mana soon," Nico grunted.

"Mia, support him." Percy suggested.

"Mm," Mia hummed as a sign of agreement. Magicians are similar to Enchanters. They have tons of crowd control spells, which means most of their spells can affect a lot of enemies at a time by inflicting them with a status debuff or immobilizing them. As a plus, they have a spell that helps with restoring mana since they have to use a bunch of mana themselves.

Mia casted 'Clarity Flow' onto Nico, which restores a chunk of his mana. "Thanks!" Nico said appreciatively as he continued his barrage of Necromancer spells along with Leo's explosive spells.

"Artemis! Zoe!" Percy called. "Keep up the damage!"

"If we do more than this we'll draw aggro!" Artemis argued.

"Take out any spiders in the back lines. Leave the front lines to Frank and Thalia." Percy said. Artemis agreed silently as she and Zoe focused their firepower to the back.

Percy then found himself to be struck by a spider as he was busy taking charge. A spider bit him and he collapsed like a rock as he was inflicted with Paralysis. It left a slight stinging sensation, but it was nothing that he couldn't handle.

"Someone help Percy!" He heard someone shouted.

This is why damage dealers are not suited to become team leaders or captains. It is very hard to focus on commanding your team while paying attention to your surroundings in the battlefield. It's also the same reason why Support players are always the captain. They have to focus on helping their allies and have a wider perspective of the fight compared to front line fighters. They can see things that people couldn't.

Unlike Percy.

Percy could feel the Paralysis leaving his body as a 'Dispel' spell was casted onto him. He quickly stood up, getting ready to get back into action.

"Thanks," Percy grunted.

"You owe me!" Rachel said with a grin.

The battle was almost won. They were now clearing up the rest of the spiders as the rest healed up.

"That was unexpectedly hard." Reyna said.

Annabeth wouldn't meet everyone's eyes. So far, she's been almost useless in these engagements. Percy went over to her.

"What's wrong with you?" Percy asked.

"It's nothing." Annabeth lied.

"No, it wasn't nothing." Percy said sternly. "I haven't seen you choke like that in . . . well, ever. And this was only a small fight."

"I-I . . . I'm sorry."

Artemis joined in their conversation. "Gotta admit, that was weird of you." Artemis said. "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm . . ." She then mumbled something but it was too quiet for either of them to hear.

"What?"

"I'm scared of . . ." Again, her voice got quieter with each word she mumbles.

"Annabeth, I'm next to you and I could barely hear you." Artemis said.

"I'm scared of spiders, okay?" Annabeth finally said, which was loud enough to have the whole group look at them. "I have Arachnophobia, fear of spiders. That's why I panicked and kept being reckless."

"And you tell us this now?" Artemis asked.

"Sorry." Annabeth muttered. "Should've mentioned it earlier."

"Yeah, you should've."

"So when you see the Dungeon name with Arachne on it, and you knew its backstory, you knew what the Dungeon is going to be about?" Percy asked.

Annabeth nodded.

"And you still went in, knowing fully well you can't handle spiders?"

Annabeth nodded again.

"You're an idiot." Percy grinned. "Well, there's nothing we can do about it now. Unless you want to head back, then good luck." Percy stretched his arms. "So, who wants to be captain?"

"Well," Thalia said. "If we look at it, the only suitable choice would either Frank, Artemis, Reyna or Nico."

"Uh-uh." Nico shook his head. "I'm not becoming a captain for this."

"Fine." Piper rolled her eyes. "So, which of you three are going to be our captain?"

The trio of captains looked at each other. Percy didn't sense any kind of power struggle between them. It wasn't like where each of them wanted to show that they were the best captain or something like that.

It was more like, what-do-we-do-now kind of situation.

After a brief pause, Rachel put her hand up. "I can be a captain."

Everyone looked at her, some with confusion and some with disbelief.

"Really? You?" Piper asked.

"Well, if you think about it." Jason said. "She does lead a team."

Rachel nodded. "Delphi."

"I've heard of that team." Reyna said. "Heck, we've fought that team. Almost lost. But didn't remember seeing you."

"I wasn't captaining during then." Rachel said. "But trust me, I can do it."

Percy looked around the group. "Any objections?"

No one said anything. Percy could see some doubts lingering in their eyes, but they stayed silent. "Good." Percy said. "Let's keep moving."

 **Line Break**

Rachel was a . . . To be honest, Percy wasn't sure if she was a good captain or not. On one hand, she's good at analyzing the situation and giving them commands on what to do.

On the other, she barks out vague commands. Usually, captains are specific. But with Rachel, it's more like, "Tanks, defend us." or "Defend the right side." or even "Get the back lines."

Sure, she tells them to do it but she doesn't tell them who the command is for.

"I swear to god this Dungeon gets harder by the minute." Jason sighed. "Why aren't you the captain? You did it during the Muspelheim Dungeon."

"That was a one time thing." Percy said. "Besides, it was just a way for me to test myself."

"Well, you do make for a good captain." Jason grinned. "Don't tell Reyna I said that though."

"As if I can't clearly hear you." Reyna grumbled next to Percy.

"Ah, didn't see you there." Jason said.

"Stop!" Rachel said to the group. Everyone stopped in their tracks. She marched towards the front of the group.

"What's wrong?" Zoe asked. Rachel said nothing as she stood in front and looked around their surroundings. She struck the floor with the bottom of her staff. There was the sound of something like a computer being turned off. A wall of transparent red light revealed itself in front of them before collapsing to the floor, as if opening a doorway.

"A trap." Rachel said.

"Wait, you can see the traps?" Artemis asked.

"I was in front and even I didn't see it." Frank muttered.

"Good eyesight." Rachel shrugged as she gestured for the group to keep moving. With that demonstration, Percy was now sure of it.

She was using a class from Cut Content.

Every once in a while, Rachel would stop them to disarm a trap. She also seems to know where to go. She went into each path without any doubt or hesitation. There's also been less monster ambushes since she's been leading the way.

"Huh," Leo said. "I thought there might be more enemies."

"Yeah," Artemis said. "For a Dungeon, there seems to be an unusually small amount of them."

"Oh, there's tons of enemies here." Rachel pointed out. "But they act like traps. If you go into their area, then they jump on you."

"So why there not any right now?" Annabeth asked, clearly relieved from the lack of spider encounters.

"Like I said, they're like traps. If you know the correct path you can avoid most of them."

"And you know the correct path?" Thalia asked.

Rachel just winked. Seems like she knows more than what she's letting in. Percy knew of course.

She's using the Oracle class, which fits her name. The Oracle was designed as a pseudo-Support class. Most of their spells revolve around timing. For example, one of the spells in Oracle's arsenal is 'Undo'. When someone uses a spell that consumes mana, the Oracle can cast 'Undo' at the same time so that they can restore the same amount of mana that was used for that spell for that person. But it has to be cast within two seconds of the mana usage, or it won't have any effect.

Another spell would be 'False Prophecy', where if a player's health reaches below ten percent, the Oracle can cast 'False Prophecy' onto that player and the player will receive no damage and double the amount of incoming healing towards them for five seconds. Again, it's about timing. If the Oracle casts it before it reaches ten percent, then there's not going to be any effect.

Those are the kind of spells they use which is really useful but hard to master.

And a bonus ability of the Oracle is that they can sort of sense hidden things. Traps, treasures, hidden pathways, where to go, etc. This is due to the fact that being the Oracle, they are supposed to be able to 'see' the future. But since that wasn't possible, it was the next best thing.

It took them almost an hour, but they then arrived to a different part of the Labyrinth. The path opened up into a spacious cavern. It was almost a shock to Percy seeing such a terrain after being in a tunnel for so long. The asphalt had turned into dirt and the walls were a mix of soil and rocks. From the ceiling and floor were stalactite and stalagmites. The room stretched as far as a football field and it was surprisingly well lit with artificial lights.

"This looks like an excavation site." Artemis muttered. "Are you sure this is part of the Dungeon?"

"The Boss area." Rachel confirmed. "They made it like this so the battleground is unique when it comes to bosses. They change it with each reset."

"Wait," Nico took of his Glasses. "This is a real cavern? It's not some sort of holographic image through Olympia?"

"Nope." Rachel said. "They have dozens of areas like this scattered throughout the Labyrinth to act as Boss areas or special loot areas. Different areas open up with each reset."

"That's kinda amazing." Piper whistled. "So I'm guessing Arachne is in there?"

At the mention of Arachne, Annabeth shuddered. "Let's just get this over with."

"You sure you can handle this?" Artemis asked with concern.

"Yeah, I'll be okay." She said as she took deep breaths.

"Well, get ready. Let's go kill us an eight-legged spider lady."

 **Line Break**

Percy would love to tell the story one day of how he heroically charged in with his sword and slay the World Boss of the Dungeon and could brag about it for an entire month.

If only that was what happened.

He spent ten minutes being stuck upside inside the Boss area.

He didn't know that Olympia could physically do that. But Rachel later explained that the Boss room were specialized with hidden mechanics built by Olympia themselves. While it might look like Arachne had strung him up by the leg and hung him upside down, it was only a mechanism that has been built into the room. There was probably a wire hanging down from the ceiling that made Percy dangle like an oversized Christmas decoration.

"Get me down!" Percy shouted, but most of his friends were busy with Arachne.

How to describe Arachne?

Imagine a spider the size of a carousel. Now imagine where the head of the spider would usually go was the top half a woman with her hands looking as sharp as talons, her eyes beady like an insect's and mandibles that looked like they could snap your head clean off.

Percy half expected to be fighting the female counterpart of Spider-Man, which he would've settled for just fine, but this was way better.

It was sarcastic, of course.

Arachne hissed at the group and tried slicing at them with her talons, but Frank stood his ground and blocked it with his shield.

"Jason! Reyna! Keep up the damage!" Rachel called out. "Supports, stay behind the rock formations for cover. Eli, help Frank and Thalia."

This was the first that Percy had heard Rachel shouted out full commands and not vague ones like she did back in the Labyrinth.

"Artemis, can you get Percy down?" Rachel said. Artemis fired an arrow at the wire. Percy thought it wasn't going to work, seeing as how he was hanging down from a very real wire and Artemis was firing a very virtual arrow.

Surprise, surprise, it worked and Percy fell face first to the dirt. Olympus had really stepped their game up with these specialized areas.

Percy rushed in, eager to join the battle. He ducked under Arachne's swipe and sliced at one of her six legs (well, eight if you count her arms). While he didn't cut it, it was enough to wound her. Arachne hissed in pain and made a noise that sounded like a rattle.

Soon, a group of smaller spiders came from every direction to assist their queen. Percy cursed.

"Hazel, Annabeth, you focus your healing on the front lines." Rachel said. "Piper, focus your healing on the ones who need it. I'll take care of the mana problem."

"They're surrounding us from the back!" Leo called as he incinerated half a dozen of spiders. "We're going to be overwhelmed at this rate!"

"Nico, can you handle them?" Rachel asked.

"I can, but I need some help." Nico grunted as he blast a spider with a green energy blast. "And we won't be able to help you guys with the boss."

"Zoe, Mia, you're in charge of our back line. Keep them away from our asses."

"Copy that." Zoe said as she moved swiftly and shot three spiders in rapid succession. Mia said nothing as she casted 'Arc Lightning' as it bounced from spider to spider.

Percy rolled away from Arachne shooting a web at him before stabbing her on the side. Arachne spun around and sent Percy tumbling down.

Now as for how he tumbled down, he knew that was the Glasses' doing. Of course he wasn't pushed down or pulled away, but the Glasses sends signals to his brain that made him lose balance and felt like he was being sent to the ground.

Technology, eh?

On Arachne's other side, Jason was busy fencing with two of her legs. Percy made a useless observation that Arachne is ambidextrous and was good at multitasking as she was continuing to put pressure on Frank.

"Switch!" Frank said as Arachne was about to grab him. Thalia stepped in and bashed her shield onto Arachne's hand, making her yowl in pain.

Piper casted 'Root' as earthen tendrils lashed out of the ground and wrapped themselves around Arachne, rendering her immobile.

"Full out!" Rachel shouted out, which was the signal for them to go all out attack. Percy grinned as he mercilessly hacked and slash at Arachne with Reyna and Jason doing the same.

Percy could see Artemis' 'Powershot' just barely hitting Arachne but managed to take a chunk of her health.

Although they managed to find a room for attack, their offense was spread very thin. Nico, Zoe and Mia were busy with their back lines while Leo was busy killing off the smaller spiders. With the rest of the Damage Dealers, they were doing a decent amount of damage but it wasn't enough.

The 'Root' debuff was almost over so they backed out but just a second too late. Arachne let out a screech as her health decreased to the halfway point, the Second Phase.

She jumped and did a one-eighty, and started to shoot webs everywhere like a mad man.

Or in this case, mad _woman_.

Frank and Reyna immediately got hit and was pinned onto the rocks, unable to do anything but wiggle and squirm uselessly.

Annabeth also got hit and was sent flying towards Zoe who was busy shooting arrow after arrow at the spider. Both of them got tangled into the web and were stuck together.

Artemis managed to narrowly dodge a web projectile and Eli managed to block one of it, but it rendered his shield useless as it was stuck with webbing now.

Mia was fast enough to cast 'Ice Wall' to block most of the webs from the back lines, protecting Rachel, Piper, Nico and Leo.

"What in the actual fuck?!" Reyna screamed in annoyance.

"Get this off me!" Annabeth said in a terrified tone.

"Stop squirming, you're grinding against my back!" Zoe said who was tangled along with her.

"Watch out for those webs!" Rachel shouted which was kinda useless.

"Yeah, thanks." Frank grumbled.

Arachne continued her barrage of swipes at Thalia who was busy blocking and countering. Percy couldn't let up now, so he took out a wooden club and bashed one of her leg into crumbles so she would be crippled.

Arachne hissed in pain and turned her attention towards Percy.

"Fuck," Percy muttered as he jumped out of the way of Arachne's talon. Percy felt his whole body tingle as he spun out of the way of a spider trying to lunge at him from behind. "Clear this fucking mob!"

"Leo! Clear out Percy's surroundings." Rachel said. She then casted a spell called 'Divine Protection' onto Percy, which makes him immune to any status debuff for eight seconds.

Artemis fired another 'Powershot' straight at Arachne and this time, she hit the monster's arm and sent it flying away into god knows where. Again, Arachne screeched in pain but she kept her eyes on Percy like how a wolf stares at meat.

The Grace siblings stepped in as Thalia threw her spear straight and true right into Arachne's head while Jason sliced off one of Arachne's legs. Arachne then kicked Jason away for being a disturbance and Thalia's spear misses her narrowly.

Percy tried to duck under her talon, but one of the spiders managed to bite him on the left causing him to stumble and Percy smacked by Arachne's talon. His health bar went low.

"Piper, we need your 'Root'!" Rachel called.

"Ten seconds!" She said as she healed Frank and Reyna. "Hazel, heal him!"

"I've got no mana right now!" Hazel said, struggling to fend off the spiders. "Rachel?"

"One spell left, then I'll be useless." Rachel said. Percy was now surrounded by an army of spiders and their queen.

It was over for them. They were out of mana and most of their Damage Dealers were gone.

"Fifteen seconds." Mia said through the teamspeak. "We can win in fifteen seconds."

"How-"

"Heal Percy now." Mia said.

Rachel wasn't hesitating as she cast her last heal onto Percy just in time as Arachne smacked him away, leaving him with a slither of health left.

"Thalia, intercept with 'Warrior's Challenge'." Mia ordered again. Thalia moved in between Percy and Arachne and casts 'Warrior's Challenge'. While it's good that Arachne's aggro was now on her, it was also bad because all of the other spider's aggro was on her as well and she wasn't going to survive the attack.

"Nico, 'Call of the Dead' and distract the spiders." Mia said. "Piper, cast Root in eight seconds. Artemis will cripple Mama Spider. Rachel will use 'Final Blessing'. Leo can blow himself up."

No one hesitated or argued. Nico used his spell, 'Call of the Dead'. As the name suggests, it enables Nico to summon the undead to do his bidding. Skeletal warriors and zombies crawled out of the ground and started to pound the spiders. Although they did little damage, they provide more than enough of a distraction.

Thalia was still taking the brunt of the attack from Arachne and she wasn't going to last much longer.

"Eli, now." Mia said.

"Switch!" Eli jumped in Thalia's place and took the Arachne's blow without a shield. Eli's health bar went dangerously low.

"We need to heal him!" Annabeth shouted.

"Stick to the plan." Mia said with confidence. "Piper, now."

Just in time, Piper's 'Root' spell came off cooldown and she casted it again at Arachne. Arachne was now rooted.

"Full out and-"

"No," Mia interrupted Percy. "Piper, heal them. Artemis, go for the 'Stun Shot'."

"But it deals no damage." Artemis countered.

"Now." Mia said. Artemis didn't argue and used 'Stun Shot' at Arachne. 'Stun Shot' is a skill where an Archer fires a blunt arrow that can stun an enemy for a moment. As it is blunt, it deals no damage. "'Final Blessing' on my signal." Mia said. She then casts 'Freeze' at Arachne, making her encased in a block of ice.

"Leo, now." Mia said. Leo grinned as he jumped forward, ready to use 'Explosion'. "Rachel, now." Mia said. On her cue, Rachel casts 'Final Blessing'.

'Final Blessing' is a last resort spell that negates damage for one second on all allies, which synced perfectly with Leo's 'Explosion' as it deals huge damage to everyone, allies and enemies alike.

They were all blinded by the explosion momentarily. Did they manage to win?

As his eyes cleared, Percy assessed the situation. Arachne was nowhere to be seen and neither is her army of spiders.

"No loot for Leo I guess." Percy sighed.

"I'm still here baby!" Leo screamed in excitement. 'Explosion' usually depletes the caster's health as well, but as Percy observed more carefully, Leo was living on one health point left.

"What the- How did you survive?" Thalia asked.

"'Grand Escape'." Mia muttered. "Allows an ally to survive one fatal blow with the minimum of one health point."

"Holy shit." Percy muttered. "You really are a genius."

* * *

 _Dungeon Complete!_

* * *

 **A/N: A bit long and I have to admit a bit dull. I'm not gonna make excuses. Not my best chapter. I'm emotionally distressed right now. So, yeah. See you guys soon.**


End file.
